Parallels
by Jeremy Ray Logsdon
Summary: Earth Crystals #2 - Jenga's latest attack successfully divides the Rangers.


### Parallels

by: Jeremy Ray Logsdon  
  


  
  
_Disclaimer : This story takes place in a totally different universe than the one on the television show. For one thing, Eltare doesn't exist in this universe. This story takes place after The Earth Crystals. Also, the prologue is pretty daring, and may be upsetting to some. It can be skipped, and you won't lose anything from the plot. It gives Justin a different history (and please understand, I like both Justin and Blake Foster, this is not some bizarre psychopathic fantasy I have like some people on the Power Rangers Newsgroup because they don't like the idea of having a twelve-year old Ranger). That being said, enjoy.   
Author Warning: I have to mention that I did commit the most atrocious of all authorial sins, and I heavily based a character on myself. I will mention that I wrote this fic under the effect of some very powerful pain medication, and... I slipped. I had intended to rewrite this story so as to no longer be a character, but the storyline was too set by the time I knew better. So, ultimately, like all of my spelling mistakes, that mistake is included in the fics. I do ask that if you think you'll have a serious problem with it and will ultimately be compelled to flame me, that you do not. Just skip this fic. If you think you can handle it, then I thank you for putting up with it and I encourage you to read on. I'll also mention that the character based on me does not stay in the Earth Crystals fics for forever. That storyline does, within a few fics, come to a close, and it's never brought up again. *sigh* The moral of this lesson, kiddies, is to never write under the influence of mind-altering doctor-prescribed drugs._  
  
**

### Prologue

**  
**Early March**

"How do I look?" Diva Tox asked. Her skin was a pleasing shade of dark brown, her hair hung down her back in thick braids, and she was dressed in a very simple pair of red shorts and a yellow top. Her general facial features were different, and the only thing that even hinted at her previous identity was her voice.

"Remarkably normal," Jenga said. "I think I'm gonna go blonde and blue." Jenga tossed her hair back. As it flew over her shoulders, the curly red and blue locks melted into an even, golden blonde. Her bright green eyes turned into an equally bright pair of blue eyes. "Think they'll recognize me?" 

"Nah," Diva Tox said. "Especially since we're just gonna watch."

"Is Scorpina coming?" Jenga asked. 

"Archerina asked her to help summon a demon for that baby they just made," Diva Tox said.

"I was wondering how they were coming along with that," Jenga said. "Did they finally get the glitch out of baby's programming?"

"Yes," Diva Tox said. "Gasket is already all puffed up about it. They're very proud."

"Good demons are hard to find," Jenga said thoughtfully.

"Where are the Rangers at?" Diva Tox asked.

"The Coliseum, I believe," Jenga answered. "Do you want me to incapacitate a Ranger today?"

"Not just yet," Diva Tox said. "The planets haven't aligned yet. I can access Muiranthias for another two weeks. Besides, I still haven't located that little furball Lerigot yet."

"Oh well," Jenga said. "I'm sure everything will turn out fine."

"I sure hope so," Diva Tox said. "Let's go."  
  


* * *

  


"Man, I can't wait to see the guys!" Justin shouted happily.

"Easy Justin," Kimberly laughed.

"It was nice of your dad to let you come ahead with us," Tanya said.

"Yeah," Justin said as though his mind were elsewhere. "Nice of him. There's the Coliseum!" He took off running as soon as the brick building came in sight.

"Hold on Justin!" Katherine shouted as she ran after him.  
  


* * *

  


Jenga and Diva Tox stood off to the side in front of a pair of double doors. "Rocky's kind of cute," Diva Tox purred.

"But not as cute as Maligore?" Jenga asked.

"Oh never," Diva Tox answered with a laugh. Suddenly, the doors flew open. A child dressed in blue slammed into Jenga.

"Oh," Justin said. "I'm sorry ma'am."

"It's okay, hon," Jenga said. She brushed against his arm, and ...  
{No Daddy no!}  


said, "Just take it easy ... next time." 

"Jennifer?" Diva Tox asked, using their semi-official Earth names. "You okay?"

"I'm fine Debbie," Jenga answered. Jenga watched as Justin walked toward Tommy, Jason, Rocky, and Adam in the ring. She closed her eyes and looked at the memory again.  
{Please Daddy!}  
{Shut up, you little mistake!!!}  


Jenga's eyes were forced open with a shot of pain. "Dear Satan," she whispered.

"What is it?" Diva Tox asked.

"Nothing," Jenga lied. "Nothing at all."  
  


* * *

  


"Hey brown eyes," Jenga said. "Mind if I sit here?" She gestured to the stool beside him.

George Stewart looked at the seat, and then at the shapely redhead before him. "Not at all," he said. "Can I buy you a drink?"

"Sure," Jenga said. "I'll have a double straight vodka on the rocks."

"Vodka?" the bartender asked. "How much do you weigh, ma'am? And I'll also need to see some I.D."

"I weigh 110, and I can handle my liquor quite well, thank you," she said. She reached into her pocket, quickly produced identification, and handed it to the bartender.

"You ain't drivin', are you?"

"Actually," Jenga said with a smile aimed at George, "I doubt I'll get much farther than that hotel down the street."

"Okay," the bartender said with a sigh.

"So green eyes," George said. "What's your name?"

"Jennifer Baal, but my friends call me Jenga."

"Like the stacking game."

"Yeah," Jenga said. "Like the stacking game." The bartender placed Jenga's drink before her. "Thank you." She lifted the glass to her lips, tilted it, and downed the clear liquid in one drink.

"There's nothing sexier than a lady who can hold her liquor," George said.

"I wouldn't know," Jenga said. "I've never kept an eye out for women. I prefer a strong man. Got any kids?"

"One," George said truthfully. "You?"

"I have one, but he's an adult now," Jenga said.

"How could you be old enough to have an adult son?"

"I'm older than I look," Jenga said.

George leaned toward Jenga, and she met him halfway. She caught him in a passionate kiss and wrapped her arms around him.

When George Stewart opened his eyes, the bar was empty. "What the ...?"

A thick layer of dust covered the bar and tables. Cobwebs decorated the walls and stretched across the many bottles. "Startled?" Jenga asked.

"What happened?"

"I happened," Jenga said. She pulled her silver dagger out of her belt and planted it deep into the bar. "I'd like to have a word with you."

Without saying a word, George jumped from his stool and ran for the door. The two tables nearest the door flipped over and rolled in front of it, blocking his primary means of escape.

"What are you?!" George bellowed. "This isn't funny anymore!"

"You're right," Jenga said. "This isn't funny anymore." She stood up and kicked her bar stool over.

"What are you gonna do?" George pleaded.

Flames suddenly shot up all around the bar. "You have a son," Jenga said. "Cute little boy. Named Justin, I believe. About twelve years old. His mother died around three years ago, didn't she? What was it the police report said? She died of heart failure, right? Due to a pre-existing condition."

"That's exactly what happened," George said, trying to keep a safe distance between himself and Jenga.

"You don't sound too certain," Jenga said. "You know how I believe it happened?"

"Shut up," George snarled.

"I think she caught you beating Justin," George said. "And tried to beat you. But her heart just couldn't take the strain. Isn't that about right?"

"Shut up!!!"

"I think that's exactly what happened," Jenga said. She suddenly ran from the bar and hurled herself at George. Her right foot, clad in a cowboy boot, caught George in the ribcage. He screamed in pain as three of his ribs shattered.

"How could you beat that little boy?" Jenga asked. "What did he ever do to you? And I know your parents didn't beat you. In fact, I know everything about you. Except why you beat your child. That part is just a little bit fuzzy."

"Please," George begged. "I never molested him."

"That is true," Jenga said. "But you beat him. Never on the face, though. That would be just a little bit too obvious. You'd rather use your belt, wouldn't you?"

"I only hit him when he was bad!" George screamed.

"No," Jenga said. "I don't think that's right. You spank your child when he's bad. You don't use a leather belt across his back."

"He's not even my kid!" George screamed.

"But you adopted him," Jenga said, kicking him hard in the same spot. George screamed, mostly from fear. "Let me try and recap this, and see if I get it right.

"He was born to Alicia and Chris Lake. They were so happy. Even as a baby, they knew he would be very bright," Jenga explained. "But, when Justin was just two years old, his father was killed in a car accident. His mother moved to Angel Grove so she could be near her parents. She met you, and you got married. You also adopted Justin. Here's where the story takes a nasty turn. Alicia discovered she had a heart condition. I forget the name of it. And you had a drinking problem. One day, Justin broke something of yours. He didn't mean to, by the way. You were drunk, and you whipped out your belt and started beating him. Alicia came in, saw you hitting him, and she just about went ballistic, didn't she? I think she did. But, she overtaxed her heart, and died. Right in front of Justin. Fortunately for Justin, he's blocked that memory. The human mind is a marvel. It has a self-protecting capacity. But anyway, you suddenly found yourself tied down with a kid that wasn't yours. No woman would want to date you and Justin. And you started taking it out on him. By beating him. Isn't that about right?"

"I don't hit him all the time," George cried.

"If you've hit him once, you've hit him too much," Jenga said. "My, it's getting hot in here, isn't it?" The flames were quickly overwhelming the room.

"Please don't kill me," George begged.

"That child called you Daddy," Jenga said, her voice thick with disgust. "And you beat him, every time you get drunk. And that's pretty often, isn't it?"

"Please..."

"You know, that didn't work when Justin begged," Jenga said. "He begged you to stop and you just caught on beating him, didn't you?"

The flames suddenly jumped onto his pants leg. He started screaming as the fire burned into his leg. "I'm on fire! Please don't kill me. Please! Who are you?!!"

Jenga grabbed him by his shirt collar and pulled him to his feet. She leaned in close and placed both hands on his face. "If you dance with the devil," Jenga whispered seductively, "you're gonna get burned." With a hard twist, she turned his head, snapping his neck.

Suddenly, the bar was back to normal. People milled about the bar, and the dust, cobwebs, and flames were gone. Jenga pushed the dead body of George Stewart over. She put adequate money for her drink on the bar, pulled her dagger out of the wood, and left.  
  


* * *

  


"Oh God," Detective Trevor Park said.

"Dad?" Adam asked. His father put up a hand to shush him.

"No, I'll be right there," Trevor said. "Has someone been sent to stay with Justin? ..... Good. I'll send Adam over as well. ..... Okay, see you in a few."

"Dad, what's wrong?" Adam asked.

"Justin Stewart's father is dead," Trevor said. "You did NOT hear this from me though. That was Sergeant Oliver, Tommy's dad. They've both gone over to Justin. He doesn't have any family left. I guess they'll have to put him in the orphanage. Man. It might not be a bad idea for Justin to have as many friendly faces with him tonight as possible."

"I'll get over there right now," Adam said. "I'll give the others a call too. Especially Rocky."  
  


* * *

  


Jason, Adam, and Rocky teleported into Justin's front yard just as Tommy and his father pulled up. "I can't even imagine how he must feel right now," Rocky said.

"Tommy!" Katherine called. Katherine, Tanya, and Kimberly ran across the street and joined up with the other Rangers.

"Good," Sergeant Oliver said. "Justin needs as many friendly faces as he can get tonight. Doesn't he have any friends his age?" He walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell.

"He goes to the High School," Jason said. "We're about the only friends he has."

Dulcea suddenly ran up to the front door. "Sorry I'm late, Sergeant," Dulcea said.

"Sergeant Phaedos," Sergeant Oliver acknowledged. The two saluted each other, very matter-of-factly.

"Lt. Stone sent us over as soon as he heard." Bulk and Skull were close behind.

"We know Justin as well," Skull said.

Suddenly, the door opened. A sleepy Justin stood there. "Did you forget your keys again?" he asked. He suddenly realized who was standing before him. "What's going on?"

"Justin, I'm afraid I have some bad news," Sergeant Oliver said.

"What?" Justin asked in a small voice.

"Your father died tonight."  
  


* * *

  


"Justin doesn't seem very concerned," Rocky whispered.

"No he doesn't," Dulcea agreed. He was laying against her, sound asleep. Justin shifted slightly, causing his t-shirt to rise up slightly.

Katherine's eyes widened as she saw his bare flesh. "Oh my God," she said. She crossed the room in just a few steps and knelt beside Justin. She slowly raised the shirt up. His flesh was literally black and purple, indicating a severe beating.  
  


* * *

  


"Jenga," Diva Tox said, looking at the action through the RepulsaScope, "I am impressed. Stunned, but impressed. Why did you do it?"

"Even Satan doesn't beat defenseless children," Jenga said woodenly.

"You realize you killed that child back in February," Diva Tox said.

"I know," Jenga said, "but that's very different. I killed everyone, and I didn't even really want to kill anyone. At least not this soon. But I would never, ever raise a hand to my child."

"You almost killed Lord Zedd!" Diva Tox cried.

"Also different," Jenga said. "I will kill anyone who is in my way. Not for their actions. I almost killed Stihn, Ahlee, Lord Zedd, and MasterVile because I had to take care of something. It had nothing to do with who they were. You should just be thankful I didn't summon Maxell's best friend and kill him."

"Good point," Diva Tox admitted with a sigh.

"Also," Jenga said, "that child is a genius. He's a Billy Cranston genius. Maybe I can adopt him. He would make a very valuable asset. I bet he could even break into the Command Center."  
  


* * *

  


"I can't believe George beat him," Trevor said angrily.

"What's going to happen to Justin now?" Adam asked.

"I guess they'll put him in the orphanage," Trevor said. "Unless some family wants to adopt him. And that's not very likely."

"Could we?"

"No," Trevor said. "We have four kids of our own to raise."

"I didn't really think so," Adam admitted.

"Maybe somebody will," Trevor said hopefully.  
  


* * *

  


Trevor looked at the autopsy report. He hated leaving a death marked as unknown, but there was just not enough evidence to point in any one direction. "How does a man break his neck and three ribs, plus burn his right calf, in a crowded bar? And how could anyone have murdered him? It just doesn't make sense." The phone rang, breaking his train of thought.

"Detective Park," he answered.

"Trevor," the voice on the other line said, "this is Arnold. We just learned something else that is extremely bizarre."

"Even more than the rest of this?"

"Oh yeah," Arnold said. "The bartender said that Mr. Stewart ordered both a beer and a double straight vodka. When the bartender realized Mr. Stewart was dead, about thirty seconds after he ordered the vodka, he also noticed that the vodka glass was empty. But, there is absolutely no vodka in his stomach."

"Is alcohol even distinguishable from another type in a dead body?"

"Normally, no. But we started the autopsy just an hour after he died. If he drank a double straight vodka, it would still have been in his stomach. He had been eating as well, there is absolutely no way that four ounces of vodka would move through a dead man's digestive tract, especially if his stomach was already full of food. We found beer, but no vodka. George Stewart did not drink that liquor."   
  


* * *

  


"Justin, are you sure there isn't anything you want to talk about?" Tanya asked after the funeral.

"I'm sure," Justin said, wiping away a tear.

"Maybe his father didn't beat him," Kimberly whispered.

"Somebody did," Rocky said angrily.

"Justin," Dulcea said, crouching down in front of him. "Are you absolutely certain there is nothing you want to talk about?"

"Nothing," Justin said.

"Justin," Dulcea said. "Please don't shut yourself off from us."

"I'm scared," Justin whispered. "About the orphanage."

"Justin," Bulk said, "there will be lots of kids your age there to play with."

"I know," Justin said sadly.

"Please Justin," Dulcea begged. "Look at me." She took his face in her hands and pulled his gaze up to hers. "Look in my eyes, Justin. I'm a cop. I'm here to protect you."

"THEN WHERE WERE YOU BEFORE!!!!" Justin screamed, unconsciously beating her across her shoulders. "WHERE WERE YOU WHEN HE HIT ME!!!"

"I don't know," Dulcea said sympathetically. She pulled Justin into her arms and hugged the trembling child tightly. "I don't know."  
  


* * *

  


"I think this is very cool, Mom," Billy said.

"Me too," Kimberly said, wrapping her arm around Billy's shoulders.

"Justin Cranston," Rebecca said. "It's a little awkward."

"That kid is as smart as you are, Billy," Kimberly said. "When you were his age, anyhow."

"Are you all going to tell Justin about us?" Billy asked.

"Not just yet," Kimberly said. "Oh wait. Here they come."

A dark blue minivan pulled into their driveway. "I've got a little brother," Billy said in awe.  
  


* * *

  


"I have to go," Billy said, "but feel free to use anything in my lab you need."

"Anything?" Justin asked in awe. "Really? Anything?"

"Anything at all," Billy said. "Catch ya bro." After his goodbyes, David drove Billy to the park so that he could safely teleport back to the Peace Conference.  
  


* * *

  
**Parallels**  
  
Late April  
  


"Yo Uncle Frank," Tommy said, zipping up his jumpsuit. "Ready to hit the track?"

"Actually, Tommy," Frank Oliver said, "I've got a proposition for you."

"What's that?" Tommy asked cautiously.

"For starters, let me just say that you have a natural talent when it comes to racing," he said. "You are without a doubt the best student I have ever seen. Right now, you are better than the guys who've been doing this for five years." Tommy blushed but accepted the compliment. "Anyway, you could be a real asset to our team."

"What?" Tommy asked, truly astonished.

"I understand you'll want to finish the school year up first," Frank said. "But I'm offering you a spot on the team. You could be in your first Nascar race by October. We'll have to do a lot of work this summer, and we should probably get started right away. You can come down here every weekend, then head back to Angel Grove during the week for school."

"What about college?" Tommy asked.

"Tommy, you have a gift," Frank said. "A natural talent I have never seen before. If you dedicate ten years of your life to this, you could have more money than you would dream possible. You don't have to go to college right out of high school, anyway. You can put it off for a while."

Tommy's mind whirled with the possibilities. "Well, I've only got three weeks of school left. Next weekend is the prom, but after that, I can spend every weekend here. And then all summer," Tommy said. "I'll need to talk it over with Mom and Dad though."

"I already have," Frank told him. "They're behind you all the way."

"I'll do it," Tommy said with a smile.  
  


* * *

  


Dulcea pulled her hair back in a loose ponytail and then put the black hat on her head. "Ready Phaedos?" Lt. Stone asked.

"Yes sir," Dulcea said. She had come a LONG way since arriving. It had been rough at first. Her two weeks at the Police Academy had been the worst. Not that she didn't enjoy the work. She was the Academy's highest prospect, and surprised everyone by becoming the Academy's first Sergeant after basic training. Her only problem was that she didn't make any friends. She didn't know how to act around people. She had spent twenty thousand years alone. Learning how to carry on a conversation was the hardest part.

She had finally gotten used to wearing clothing. The Police Academy hadn't been too terribly hard, due to the fact that she was able to wear sweatpants and sweatshirts the whole time. When she got back though, she had a bad habit of undressing whenever she got uncomfortable. She always wore her green bikini underneath and couldn't understand why the bikini wasn't enough clothing. It covered all of her important belongings.

Two and a half months later, Kimberly, Katherine, and Tanya had her trained to be a lady. Still lethal, but a lady. Clothing still annoyed her, but she understood the concept behind it. She still had a few bad habits. She tended to go barefoot a lot, even in public. "The clothing I can handle," she told Tanya. "But if I can't wear my boots, I'm going barefoot. Those things you call tennis shoes are torture." They finally had convinced her to wear normal shoes, although she still had an occasional relapse.

"Okay, Phaedos," Lt. Stone said. "You've proven yourself worthy of carrying an arsenal. Normally, we would have done this some time ago, but you are so gifted in hand-to-hand." Dulcea had shocked everyone on her third day of Training when she disabled a very large man, carrying a night stick, with her bare hands.

"Do I get a Sword?" Dulcea asked happily.

"I love your sense of humor," Lt. Stone laughed. "We don't carry Swords. We have guns, but you don't need one just yet."

"Didn't I do okay with target practice?" Dulcea asked.

"You did too well," Lt. Stone said. "Everybody is afraid of you." Dulcea couldn't help but smile at the compliment. After discovering that she had an eerie gift of extreme aim, they tested her. A very unorthodox test, which she did pass. They fired an arrow in front of her, and she shot it. Lt. Stone was afraid of what might happen if Dulcea got angry and had a gun. She was bad enough with her bare hands. She put her first three muggers in the emergency room. The first two had robbed an elderly woman, and she chased them three blocks. The third tried to attack her, off-duty. Tried, being the imperative word. He was in Intensive Care for two days. Dulcea was later put through Sensitivity Training, and promised to try and hold back on her attacks.

"No sword or gun?" Dulcea asked again, disappointed.

"No," Lt. Stone said. "You will, however, get a night stick." He held up her shiny black night stick.

"I've seen these," Dulcea said. "Bulk and Skull carry them." She took it by the handle and tested its weight. "May I see yours as well?"

"Uhm, okay," Lt. Stone said. He unsheathed his night stick and handed it to Dulcea.

"Yes," she said. "I have used these before." She cracked the two together. Holding them by their handles, she began to spin them in wide circles. In a matter of mere seconds, both night sticks had become a black blur. A few seconds later, a faint whirring sound seemed to emanate from them. Lt. Stone stared at her, completely mesmerized. After a moment more, she stopped just as suddenly as she began. "How was that?"

"Where did you learn to do that?" he asked in awe.

Think fast, Dulcea, think fast. What did Alpha tell you about yourself? "My father taught me on our ranch in Australia," Dulcea said, and smiled proudly at herself.

"I ... I think that's enough for today," Lt. Stone muttered, rubbing his temples. Dulcea tossed him his night stick and shoved hers in the holster.

"Dismissed?" Dulcea asked.

"Yeah, whatever," Lt. Stone said. To himself, he asked, "Why do I get all of the freaks?" He couldn't help but love the three of them, though. His three musketeers, Skull, Bulk, and Dulcea.  
  


* * *

  


"Come on Rocky!" Adam shouted. "The doctor told us your back was better!"

"All right all right," Rocky complained. Rocky shouldered the large role of muslin and climbed to the top of the ladder.

"This is going to be the best prom in Angel Grove's history," Katherine said. She scanned her checklist, and then looked up. "We still need to put white Christmas lights on those stick trees along the walls."

"Can I help?" Justin asked from the doorway.

"Certainly Justin," Ms. Appleby answered from the back of the room. "We can use as many hands as we can get."

"Great," Justin said. "Shame I can't come, though."

"Don't start that," Tanya laughed. "You know freshman aren't allowed."

"Yeah," Adam said. "When we were freshmen, we couldn't come. Neither can you."

"Guess I'll have to take my hot date elsewhere," Justin said with a half-cocked smile.

"Oh!" Rocky cried. "Speaking of hot dates, guess who I'm taking!"

"Who?" Katherine challenged.

"Marge Petersen," Rocky said proudly.

"Really?" Adam said thoughtfully.

"I don't believe I know her," Tanya said.

"She and Billy sort-of dated for a while," Jason said as he and Kimberly entered the gym. "Back when we were freshmen."

"You gotta admit," Rocky said, "she's cute."

"She is attractive," Jason agreed.

"Very lovely girl," Ms. Appleby added. "And she finally gave up on that technobabble."

"Technobabble?" Rocky said. "Marge technobabbles?"

"She's toned it down quite a bit since we first met her," Kimberly said. "She used to be as bad as Billy."

"Billy calmed down, too," Adam said.

"I couldn't understand a single thing he said for the first six months I knew him," Rocky laughed.

"Me neither," Ms. Appleby muttered to herself.  
  


* * *

  


"Bulk!" Dulcea cried, running down the sidewalk. "Hey Bulk! Skull! Anybody!"

"We're in here, Dulcea!" Skull cried. Dulcea ran across the street to Skull's house and darted into their basement.

"Imagine what?" Dulcea asked excitedly.

"Guess what," Bulk reminded her.

"About what?"

"No," Bulk said. "Guess what instead of imagine what."

"Okay," Dulcea said. "Guess what?"

"What?" Bulk asked.

"I got my very first night stick!" she said proudly, snapping it from her belt.

"Congrats," Skull said. "Remember our first night stick Bulkie?"

"I remember the bruises I gave myself trying to get used to it," Bulk said.

Three simultaneous six-tone alarms went off in the small garage. Dulcea looked at the white communicator on her wrist. Unfortunately, she had lost a few of her powers when she took the Crystal of Time. She couldn't teleport herself, or turn into an owl. She was basically an ordinary human, with twenty millennia of built-up fighting skills, and required a communicator to teleport anywhere.

"Rangers," Alpha said. "Please report to the Command Center immediately."  
  


* * *

  


The Rangers, active and otherwise, looked at each other warily. Even Rocky, Jason, and Kimberly's communicators were flashing. "This is bad," Rocky said softly.

"Ms. Appleby?" Tanya asked. "We have something we have to do. We'll be back as soon as we can."

"Okay," Ms. Appleby said. "Hurry back."

"Right," Adam said. He jumped down from his ladder, and the seven of them ran out into the hallway.

"Rangers," Alpha said. "Please report to the Command Center immediately."

"Let's go," Katherine said. Red, yellow, green, two pink, and two blue streams of sparkling light rose up out of the school. In perfect alignment, they darted out of Angel Grove and headed toward the Command Center.  
  


* * *

  


"I love that sound," Catalina said as ten teleportation beams landed in the Command Center.

"Is there a problem, Zordon?" Katherine asked.

"No," Tommy answered for him. "I asked you all to come here, actually."

"Tommy?" Kimberly asked. "Do you have a problem?"

"Sort of," Tommy said. "I'm leaving the team."

"What?!" Adam and Tanya cried in unison.

"You can't," Justin said.

"Hold on a second," Tommy said. "I'm keeping my Ninja Powers. I'm just passing on my Turbo Powers. I'll still be on the team, like the rest of you. I just won't be on active call all the time."

"Tommy has received a wonderful opportunity," Catalina said.

"Uncle Frank has offered me a spot on his team," Tommy said. "I'll be working in the pit crew this summer, training in my off time, and maybe even get a chance to be at Nascar."

"Will you be here for the rest of the school year?" Kat asked.

"Yeah," Tommy said. "I'll finish up the year. I'll still be here for prom, but after that, I'll be spending every weekend in Covina. It's only a few hours away."

"When are you giving your power up?" Jason asked.

"Now," Tommy said. He twisted his left arm, and with a faint metallic ringing, his Turbo Morpher appeared on his wrist. He lifted his right hand up, which was suddenly holding the Turbo Key, and proceeded to pull the Morpher off. "Now we just have the dilemma of deciding who gets the power."

"This is a dilemma if ever there was one," Dulcea said.

"How about Dulcea?" Jason asked. "She doesn't have the Ninja power."

"I can't accept the Red Turbo Powers," Dulcea said meekly.

"Of course you can," Tommy said, holding his morpher out to her. "If anyone deserves it, you do."

"No," Dulcea said, "I physically can't receive Ranger Powers. My body rejects them. I have so much of a natural Ninja power from all that time on the Sacred Grounds, my body would reject them. But thank you for thinking of me."

"I think it should be Jason," Kimberly said.

"Kimberly," Jason said sternly.

"She's right," Rocky said. "You were the original leader. It's just right that you should be again."

"That is very noble of you, Rocky," Zordon said. Rocky blushed and lowered his head.

"I think we've decided," Adam said with a smile.

"Jason, you put your life on the line when you accepted the Gold Ranger Powers," Zordon said, "both to help the team and to save the Powers from extinction."

"Do you all feel this way?" Jason asked cautiously.

"Take the morpher, stupid," Kimberly said with a laugh, shoving him in Tommy's direction.

Jason took the morpher from Tommy's hands. They melted into a red light and flowed up his arms. "Thank you," Jason said. He extended his hand for a handshake, but Tommy pulled him into a hug.

"I can't think of anyone I'd trust the powers with more," Tommy said truthfully.

An alarm sounded. "Looks like you get to take your new powers on a test drive," Jason said.

"Make sure you concentrate on calling your Turbo morpher up," Tanya said, "and not your Ninja morpher."

Jason nodded and shouted, "SHIFT INTO TURBO!!!"

"MOUNTAIN BLASTER TURBO POWER!!!"

"DESERT THUNDER TURBO POWER!!!"

"DUNE STAR TURBO POWER!!!"

"WIND CHASER TURBO POWER!!!"

"RED LIGHTNING TURBO POWER!!!"  
  


* * *

  


"I've already worked it out with Zordon," Billy said.

"Come on," Zack said. "Let's go visit her."

"Is our teleportation on-line yet?" Trini asked.

"Should be," Billy answered. "Let's give it a shot." The three lined up, pressed the teleport button on their communicators, and disappeared in simultaneous flashes of blue, black, and yellow.  
  


* * *

  


Jenga looked at the battle with the Rangers and the super-charged Tengas from the moon. "Porto?" Jenga asked. "Do you have anything ready for us yet?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," Porto said. A tall, thin lizard stepped forward. "This is Chameleon. He can completely blend in with his surroundings."

"Excellent," Jenga said. She looked at the Blue Ranger and sighed. "Such a shame."  
  


* * *

  


"Do you get the feeling that Jenga isn't putting as much effort into her plans?" Kat asked after the fight was over.

"I know," Justin said. "It's like she's saving up for something big."

"Well, Zordon did tell us that she's been a little bit weaker since she absorbed the Anti-Earth Crystal," Tanya said.

"Yeah," Jason said, "but she's still stronger than she was when she first showed up."

"Well, let's get back to the gym," Adam said. "Ms. Appleby is probably freaking out by now."  
  


* * *

  


"So Bulk?" Skull asked. "What are you gonna do about the prom?"

"Prawm?" Dulcea asked.

"Yeah," Skull said. "The prom."

"Prawm!" Dulcea cried frantically. "Why hasn't anyone told me! Dear God! We are in big trouble! Where is it?!"

"The gym at school," Bulk said incredulously.

"Oh no," Dulcea cried. She tore out the door and took off running for Angel Grove High.

"What the sam hill was that about?" Skull asked.

"I don't know nothing anymore," Bulk muttered.  
  


* * *

  


Dulcea darted into the high school gym. "It's not here yet," she whispered thankfully. Justin walked past her. She quickly lurched out, grabbed him, and clamped a hand over his mouth.

Justin tried to protest, but Dulcea quickly pulled him into a dark corner of the gym. "Shhh," Dulcea whispered. "It's me, Dulcea."

"What's wrong?" Justin asked when she took her hand off of his mouth.

"There is a prawm loose in Angel Grove," Dulcea whispered.

"What's a prawm?" Justin asked.

"This horrible beast on Phaedos," Dulcea said. "It stands eight feet tall, four feet wide at the shoulders, and has a maw full of dangerous blood red teeth. He kills the innocent for pleasure. I thought he was trapped on Phaedos, but he followed me here somehow. Bulk and Skull told me it was here."

"We should go to the Command Center," Justin said. "Maybe Zordon knows what to do about it."

"That's a good idea," Dulcea said. "Let's go." The familiar whoosh of teleportation filled the gym. White and blue sparkles of light temporarily decorated the air as they left the gym.  
  


* * *

  


"The scans don't shown a prawm in Angel Grove," Alpha said.

"But Bulk and Skull told me there was a prawm," Dulcea told the robot. "It must be hidden from the Command Center's computers, somehow."

"This is a possibility," Zordon said.

"Perhaps we should warn the Rangers about the prawm," Catalina thought out loud. "I tell you what. I'll go out and look around myself. He can't hurt me."

"The joys of being a hologram," Zordon joked. "Or a big floating head."  
  


* * *

  


Aisha watched as the three teleportation streams approached her, although Zack's stream was barely visible against the night sky. In a matter of mere seconds, they landed before her and materialized into three of her friends. "Zack!" she cried. She ran up to her boyfriend, grabbed him in a hug, and gave him a passionate kiss.

"You ready to go buy a prom dress?" Trini asked.

"Oh yeah," Aisha said. "Will you two be okay while we're gone?"

"Can't we come?" Billy asked.

"No," Trini said. "This is our day. Not yours."

"Well what do we do?" Zack asked.

"You can go back to the village," Aisha said.

"I've got a better idea," Billy said. "We'll have a male bonding day."

"Men," Zack grunted in agreement.

"Where are you two going?" Billy asked. "We'll make sure to go elsewhere."

"We're going to Paris for some midnight shopping," Trini said.

"Oh la la," Aisha said. "Is what I'm wearing okay for Paris?" Aisha was wearing denim shorts and a simple white blouse.

"Trey bien," Trini said. "I'm not going to a store so expensive I have to dress up to go in."

"I hear that," Aisha agreed. "Arriva derci boys!" Both girls hit their teleport button. Yellow and white sparkles of light rained down on the ground for a split second before the two streams took off like rockets, temporarily lighting up the whole sky.

"Where are we gonna go?" Zack asked.

"Uhm, you speak any Japanese?" Billy asked.

"Not a word," Zack answered.

"How about New York City? It's just six o'clock there," Billy said.

"Let's hit it," Zack said. The two Rangers hit their knuckles together and teleported away.  
  


* * *

  


Jenga kissed MasterVile on the top of his head and climbed out of bed. "Rise and shine," Jenga said.

"It's still the middle of the night," MasterVile complained.

"We're on the moon," Jenga said. "It's always the middle of the night."

"Well, that proves my point," MasterVile said. He turned back on his side and continued to sleep.

"Suit yourself," Jenga said. She pointed her index finger at herself, and her skimpy see-through blue teddy changed into her normal attire of jeans and button-up denim blouse.

"Good afternoon, Jenga," Prince Sprocket said as he wobbled down the hallway.

"Morning," Jenga said sweetly. "Where's your father?"

"Last time I saw, he was fussing at Rito and Elgar in the computer room," Prince Sprocket said.

"If they make that system crash one more time," Jenga threatened. Shaking her head, she walked toward the computer room. "I rue the day I installed Netscape Navigator."

She entered the room to find Rito typing at the computer with Elgar looking over his shoulder. "Whatcha doin?"

"Aaaah!" they both yelled.

"You're in a chat room pretending to be a woman again, aren't you?!" Jenga shouted.

Rito and Elgar looked at each other, and then at Jenga. "Yeah," Rito said sadly.

"We like the attention," Elgar said.

"Just don't download any more viruses," Jenga said sternly.

"Yes ma'am," Elgar and Rito said in unison as she left the room.

Jenga walked toward the balcony. She pulled her staff out of the air and stared at the planet intently. Twin blue beams of light shone from her eyes, permitting her to see anything on the planet. "Wait a minute," Jenga said. She turned her attention back to the blue staff. "Where did that come from?" A gray blob was embedded within the sapphire. She reached into the sapphire, grabbed the gray object, and pulled it out.

"How did that get there?" she asked in awe. "I didn't think there was any left. There isn't much power left, though."

"Hello Jenga," Scorpina said as she entered the room.

"Hello dear," Jenga said. She stared at the gray shard in her hand. It was the very last remnant of the Anti-Earth Crystals. Jenga looked back at the Earth. "This could be interesting." She put both the staff and crystal away.

"Idea?" Scorpina asked.

"You could say that," Jenga said. She bent forward so that her hair fell forward in a wave. She ran both hands through her hair, and it magically changed into the darkest shade of ebony. "How do I look?"

"Different," Scorpina said truthfully.

"Good," Jenga said. With a thick French accent, she said, "Do I sound French, mademoiselle?"

"Oui," Scorpina said with a smile.

"Trey bien," Jenga said. Her clothing immediately shifted shape, turning into an navy blue business suit. "I will be back soon."  
  


* * *

  


"Le Boutique," Trini said.

"I think it's closed," Aisha said. She stared into the darkened store.

"Oh man," Trini complained.

"I am sorry," an elegant woman said from behind them. "I only stepped out but for a moment. I apologize for my inglis is no good. But we are open."

"Great," Aisha said. "We need to buy dresses for our prom."

"Prawm?" the woman asked, a smile spreading across her face.

"I'm sorry, I forgot you don't have proms here," Trini said. "It's a formal dance."

"Oh," she said, sounding almost disappointed. "We could use a prawm down here," Jenga thought bitterly as she let the two Rangers into the store.  
  


* * *

  


Dulcea, Justin, and Catalina cautiously walked down the alley. "Be ready to morph at any moment, Justin," Dulcea said. "Prawms are deadly. If one touches you, you're dead before you feel any pain."

"That's better than dying slowly," Justin mused.

"We're the most bizarre fighting force Angel Grove has ever seen," Catalina mused. "A hologram in a white gown with metallic blue hair, an eleven year old, and a police chick with an Australian accent whose legs go up to her face."

"I'm twelve," Justin said defensively.

"I don't even see tracks of it anywhere," Dulcea said. "This must be a particularly clever prawm."

"What will its tracks look like?" Justin asked.

"It leaves deep claw marks wherever it treads," Dulcea told him. "Even in stone."

"Why don't I take the lead?" Catalina suggested, moving to the front of their group. "If it sees me, it'll try and attack me and it won't do any good."

"Just be careful," Dulcea said. "Prawms are capable of anything."  
  


* * *

  


"Have you seen Skull?" Kimberly asked Bulk as he entered the gym.

"He's looking for Dulcea," Bulk answered. "She freaked out earlier. Something about the prom."

"She's a mystery," Kimberly said. "Hold my ladder steady."  
  


* * *

  


"Are you sure there is a prawm loose?" Justin asked.

"Skull said there was," Dulcea said, "although I'm starting to wonder. I don't smell blood on the air."

"Justin, you might as well go back and decorate for the prom," Catalina said.

"Bait?" Dulcea asked in horror. "You can't put this child up as bait!"

"What are you talking about?" Justin asked. "She's talking about the prom. The formal dance. Not the prawm. Oh boy. I think I know what's going on now."

"What?" Dulcea asked, very confused.

"Let's go find Skull," Justin said. "He'll clear everything up."  
  


* * *

  


"Hey Ernie," Rocky said.

"Rocky," Ernie called. "Been up to much? Your usual?"

"Please," Rocky said. "We've been decorating for prom."

"How's your back?"

"I'm all healed up," Rocky said.

"How's your replacement?" Ernie asked in a much quieter voice.

"He's doing good," Rocky said. "Kind of trips me up to see him grow when he morphs, but he's a good fighter. Morphed or not."

"Why does he grow?"

"Billy said it was something about the morphing grid automatically places every fighter in their utmost physical condition," Rocky said in his quietest voice. "Justin is about six foot three when he morphs. That's even taller than Tommy. Billy said that Justin will be that tall when he grows up. The kid is cool. He's a valuable asset. Oh, did you hear? Jase is a Ranger again."

"Turbo?"

"Yeah," Rocky said. "Tommy's going to Covina this summer to practice for Nascar. We all decided that Jason would be the best Ranger to be the leader again."

"Do I detect a hint of rejection in your voice?"

"I was a little upset," Rocky said. "There's nothing better than the rush of being on active duty, but I do like all of the free time I have now. Besides, I still have the Ninja Power. You know, for an emergency."

"Well," Ernie said as he put the lid on Rocky's smoothie, "you all take it easy." Rocky started to hand him some money, but Ernie put his hands up in protest. "On the house."

"Never one to pass on free food," Rocky said truthfully.

"Oh, before you go," Ernie said. "We're having a karate competition the weekend school lets out."

"Really?" Rocky asked. "We haven't had a competition here in a long time."

"Tell me about it," Ernie said. "Spread the word."  
  


* * *

  


"I like this one," Aisha said, twirling around. Her dress was cut low in the back. It was made of a slinky, silvery-white material. The upper chest was covered in a transparent silvery lace which looked phenomenal against her dark skin. The dress flared out only slightly over her hips and came down halfway between her knees and ankles.

"That's beautiful," Trini said. "What about mine?" She wore a tight fitting canary yellow gown with spaghetti straps. "Simple."

"But elegant," Aisha finished.

"Have you decided what you would like?" the woman asked. "Oh, Miss Kwan. That is an excellent choice. That particular gown comes with this charm." Jenga opened her hand, and a silver chain came tumbling out. At the end of the chain was a smoky gray crystal heart. It was cut like a diamond, and captured the light.

"That is gorgeous," Aisha said.

"It is," Trini agreed.

"Try it on," Jenga said. "You'll find it goes wonderfully with that dress."

Trini cautiously took the silver necklace and fastened it around her neck. "That looks good, girl," Aisha said.

"I'd buy the gown just to get this charm," Trini laughed.

"You can take it off of the chain and put it on a chain of your own," Jenga said.

"I'll take it," Trini said.  
  


* * *

  


Trini put the two dresses in the back of her closet. "Thanks again for keeping it for me," Aisha said.

"Not a bit of trouble," Trini said. Suddenly, two teleport streams dropped into the dorm.

"You girls have fun?" Zack asked.

"A blast," Aisha said. "You?"

"We just went to Central Park and hung around a while," Billy said.

"After that, we teleported to the Grand Canyon," Zack said.

"So you didn't do any shopping?" Trini asked.

"Aren't you worried about the prom?" Aisha asked.

"Let's see," Billy said. "I'll go back to Angel Grove the day before the prom and rent my tux. That afternoon I'll go buy flowers. Mmm, nope. Not worried."

"I still can't believe Ms. Appleby is gonna let us go to the prom," Aisha said happily. "I should probably go." She kissed Zack and teleported to Africa.

"I think I'm gonna head to bed, too," Billy said. "G'night Trini."  
  


* * *

  


"I am freaked out over this Calculus test," Kimberly said Sunday afternoon.

"If you hate Calculus, why did you take it?" Justin asked.

"I need it for pre-college curriculum," she answered. "Although I don't understand why a lower elementary grades teacher should need Calculus."

"Well, what are you having problems with?" Justin asked.

"Derivatives," Kimberly said. "It just doesn't make sense."

"Can I see it?" Justin asked.

"Knock yourself out," she said, sliding the book across the table to him.

His eyes scanned the page for a few seconds, and then he got up and stood beside her. "Okay," he said. "I can show you a short cut. It still works the same way, but it is a whole lot simpler."

"Let's go for it," Kimberly said.  
  


* * *

  


Kimberly ran out of her Calculus class Monday afternoon with a big smile on her face. She danced down the hall, looking for her "little brother."

"Watch out, Kim," Jason said as she slammed into him at her locker.

"Have you seen Justin?" she asked.

"Not since lunch."

"Thanks to him, I just got an A on my Calculus test," she said happily. Skull snuck up behind her and grabbed her around the waist. With a happy squeal, she wrestled out of his arms and gave him a quick kiss. "One of these days, somebody is gonna hurt you when you do that to them."

"I've been lucky so far," Skull said, quickly taking his arm from around Kimberly as Mr. Caplan walked by.

"There he is," Kimberly said. She ran across the hall and picked Justin up in a big hug, although he wasn't that much shorter than she was.

"What's wrong with you?" Justin asked.

She gave him a big kiss on his check and said, "I passed my Calculus test thanks to you."

"Well you didn't have to kiss me," he complained, wiping his cheek off.

"You'll love it when you're older," Jason said with a grin.

Bulk and Katherine were the next to join their group. Just as they got there, Katherine and Jason's communicators went off.

"Joy," Kat said. "We read you."

"Turbo Rangers," Alpha said, "please get to the park immediately. A flock of Tengas is terrorizing the citizens!"

"We're on it, Alpha," Jason said. Kat, Justin, and Jason teleported away in three streams of light.  
  


* * *

  


"Penny for your thoughts," Gasket said.

Jenga turned her gaze to the machine. "Just a little depressed," she said. "I did Justin a favor and he becomes a Ranger. I was really hoping to have him on my team."

"Maybe he doesn't know," Gasket said.

"Of course," Jenga said. "He doesn't know. Anybody want to go to Earth?"

"Ooh ooh ooh!" Prince Sprocket cried as he hobbled into the main palatial room. "Can I come?!"

"Let's go, Prince," Jenga said. Jenga disappeared in a column of black fire, while Prince Sprocket's body disappeared into his crown. The crown of lights spun around the room, and then disappeared in a bright flash.  
  


* * *

  


"We can't hold them off!" Tanya cried.

"We have to morph!" Adam agreed.

"SHIFT INTO TURBO!!!" Jason cried. Seconds later, the five Turbo Rangers were morphed and proved a much more effective fighting force.

Jenga suddenly appeared in battle. Rito's Sword suddenly appeared in her grasp, just as Prince Sprocket landed beside her. "I really need to get my own Sword."

"What do you want, Sprocket?" Katherine spat as she beat a crowd of Tengas with her bow.

"I'm just here for the ride, blondie," Prince Sprocket said, just as angrily.

"And what do you want, Jenga?" Justin snarled.

"I came to give you a personal invite to the Dyntasty," Jenga said.

"Back off!" Tanya cried. She ran at Jenga with her Star Charges in hand. Jenga kicked Tanya square in the stomach, knocking her backwards.

"Why would I join you?" Justin asked, temporarily removed from the battle.

"Because you owe me," Jenga said.

"Hardly," Justin said. "Hand Blasters!" Two large gun-like devices, which were actually designed to look like the mufflers of a car, appeared in his possession.

"No, you do owe me." She planted the Sword of bones in the ground and leaned on it. "I was the one who killed your father."

Justin lowered the Hand Blasters. They disintegrated in a sparkle of blue. Still in shock, he reached up and unbuckled his helmets. By the time he had it cleared from his face, his body was once again that of a twelve year old. "You killed him?" he asked in a voice nearly void of emotion.

"I broke his neck," she said. "I know he beat you, Justin. I don't like that. So, I met up with him at a bar, shattered three ribs, burned his leg, and broke his neck."

Adam looked at Jenga. "She did it?" he asked himself in awe. "Those are the same injuries Dad told me about." Three Tengas suddenly jumped at him, taking advantage of his lapse in concentration.

"You killed him?" Justin asked again.

"I sure did," Jenga said with a smile.

"Why?"

"I was hoping you would join us," Jenga said. "We could really use someone as smart as you are in the Dynasty."

"Justin, it's a trick!" Katherine cried, flipping into place between Justin and Jenga.

"Katherine, I can deal with this," Justin said bitterly. A pair of Tengas suddenly leaped at her and knocked her aside. "You really killed him?"

"You don't seem upset," Jenga said with a smile.

"I'm ... I'm happy now," Justin said. "I have a big brother, and I sort of have a big sister. And a real Mom and Dad again. Actually, I've never had a real Dad before."

"You don't seem totally thrilled, either," Jenga said.

"I never wanted him dead," Justin said, although he wasn't totally certain that was true.

"I think you did."

"No."

Jenga raised her eyebrows at the youngest Ranger. "You can't lie to me, Justin," Jenga said. "One of my gifts is that I can read people."

"So what if I am glad he's dead," Justin said softly.

"I agree," Jenga said. "The world is better off without him."

"Do you want me to pay you back?" Justin asked nervously.

"That would be nice," she said, "but I'm not going to force you."

"But you could, couldn't you?" he asked.

"No," she said. "I could put a spell on you, but that wouldn't do any good. You're useless unless you do it to me of your own free will."

"Thank you, but I can't help."

"I know," Jenga said sadly. "You know that we have to be enemies now."

"Yes. But Jenga, I really mean it. Thank you," Justin said. "BACK TO ACTION!!!"

Jenga teleported away before Justin could attack her. She could have held her own, but she just didn't feel like fighting him anymore.  
  


* * *

  


"Who are you going to the prom with?" Skull asked.

"I'm going stag," Bulk answered. "Unless you know of someone."

"What does a deer have to do with the ... prom?" Dulcea asked. She was making sure she said prom instead of prawm, although her accent still made the two sound nearly identical.

"No," Bulk said. "Going stag means I'm going by myself."

"Oh," she answered. "What does one do at a prom?"

"Well, it's sort of like a big party where everybody has fun," Skull said. "And punch."

"It's a drink," Bulk answered. "Made from fruit."

"The prom sounds like fun," Dulcea said. She left the room for a moment.

Skull nudged Bulk in the ribs. Bulk's eyebrows shot up, implying that there was no way. "Do it," Skull muttered.

"She'll say no and I'll feel stupid," Bulk muttered back.

"Ask her, or I'll ask her for you."

"Okay," Bulk finally relented. He didn't want to admit that he had considered asking Dulcea himself but was just too chicken to do it. "Dulcea?"

Dulcea came back in, twirling a night stick. "Bulk?"

"Wouldyouliketogotothepromwithme?"

"That was smooth," Skull muttered to himself, prompting an elbow to the ribs.

"I'd love to," Dulcea said happily.

"You would?" Bulk asked, just as happily.

"Sure," she said. "What do I have to wear?"

"We'll get Kim, Kat, and Tanya over here to help you find a dress," Skull said. "It'll be fun."  
  


* * *

  


"What's your favorite color?" Tanya asked.

"I don't understand why I can't wear my policeman's uniform," Dulcea complained. "I've actually gotten used to this."

"So you like black?" Katherine asked.

"I guess," Dulcea said. "I like this because it's comfortable. What colors are you wearing?"

"I'm wearing violet," Kimberly answered.

"I found this beautiful dress that is such a gorgeous shade of pink," Katherine sighed. "Beautiful."

"I'm wearing a shade of yellow that looks sort of like an Earth-tone," Tanya said.

"That'll look good on you," Kimberly said. "How are you wearing your hair?"

"I'm going to wear it up," Tanya said. She demonstrated, which produced approval from both Katherine and Kimberly. "How about you all?"

"I'm not telling," Katherine said. "My mother came up with a really neat idea that I think is gorgeous."

"I'm not doing anything fancy to mine," Kimberly said. "I'm going to just leave it long and silky."

"The way Skull likes it?" Kat asked with a smile.

"Of course," Kimberly answered with a smile.

"What do you have to do with your hair?" Dulcea asked, horrified. She pulled her black cap off and showed her loose ponytail. "Can I wear my hair like this?"

"No," Tanya said, "but you don't have to do anything fancy. Just wear it free."

"This prom concept is complicated," Dulcea said. "And it's just for one night?"

"That's it," Kimberly answered. "Let's just find you a dress and we'll worry about the rest of it later."

"What colors do you like?" Kat asked.

"I like purple. Green. Orange. Blue. And black."

"I don't think you would look good in orange," Tanya said.

"Blue might be a possibility, though," Kimberly thought out loud.

"Oooh," Dulcea said. "I like these." She ran up to a dress that was covered in sequins. "They sparkle."

"A blue sequined gown," Katherine said. "We know what to get now."  
  


* * *

  


Billy, Trini, Aisha, and Zack teleported back to Angel Grove Thursday afternoon. Aisha just told her aunt Ashala the truth, who in turn covered for her with her parents, while the others took a weekend leave from the Peace Conference. They needed to get their sleep cycles adjusted. Otherwise, they would be ready to sleep before the prom even started.

Friday afternoon was the most hectic day. Those attending the prom were allowed to leave at lunchtime to get ready. The extra hours were mainly for the girls, who tended to take much longer to get ready.

Dulcea, though, was the most nervous. She liked the way her dress looked, but she hated the way it felt. And she detested her shoes, and the blue garter she wore on her thigh for the garter dance. But after a long, trying day, she was ready.  
  


* * *

  


Tommy rang Katherine's doorbell. He wore a simple black tux with a shiny silver vest. He knew that Katherine was wearing pink, but he wasn't about to put on a pink vest. Katherine suddenly appeared before him. Her dress was a beautiful shade of pink. It was sleeveless with thick straps over her shoulders. The dress flared out from the waist and reached to her knees. While her dress wasn't particularly outstanding, her hair was. She had it pulled up in a loose twist. A sprig of baby's breath was twisted into it, as had been her mother's suggestion. A thin tendril of hair hung down the right side of her face. A ribbon, the same shade of pink as her dress, was braided into it.

"You look wonderful," Tommy sighed. He extended his hand and gave her a wrist corsage of four small, pink, roses.

"Thank you," Katherine said. "Come in. Mum's already got her camera ready."

Before she had a chance to close the door, Adam jumped up the steps and wondered how long it would take his date to notice his change. Tanya took Katherine's place at the door. "Hey beautiful," Adam said.

"Well didn't we clean up good?" Tanya smiled. Her eyes rested on his hair, and a happy cry burst from her. "You cut your hair!"

"You like it?" he asked.

"You cut your hair!" she shouted. "I love it! Oh thank you."

"Well, I knew you were getting tired of it," Adam said. "It was more trouble like that."

"You look really great," Tanya said with a wide smile.

"You don't look half bad yourself," Adam said, returning the smile. She wore a tight fitting yellowish-brown dress that reached the floor. It had full sleeves and came up to her neck, although there was an oval shape cut out above her breasts.

"Ready to hit the town?" Tanya asked.  
  


* * *

  


Skull walked up onto the Cranston's porch. He and Bulk were both wearing their usual formal police suits, complete with their rank and gold braid ropes. Kimberly greeted him on the porch in her violet dress. The somewhat bizarre reddish-bluish-purple hue looked wonderful against her tanned skin. Her hair hung halfway down her shoulders like silk. She and Kat had talked a little about the ribbon braid idea, and Kimberly had taken the same idea. Exactly in the middle of her back was a very thin braid, where the third strand was a violet ribbon. She wore the lightest touch of make-up and only a hint of perfume. Her dress was sleeveless and strapless, but she wore violet gloves that came up to her elbows.

"Hey handsome," Kimberly said, standing on tiptoe to give him a quick kiss.

"Hey yourself beautiful," Skull answered. Skull pulled a bouquet of violet-stained roses from behind his back.

"Ooh," Kimberly said. "Ready?"

"You know it," Skull said. They walked out to Skull's father's car, a candy-apple red '55 Chevrolet.   
  


* * *

  


Dulcea stumbled forward and caught herself on the doorframe. "I hate pumps," she growled. She stood back up to her full six foot two frame and straightened out her tight dark blue sequined dress. It was strapless and only came about halfway down her thigh. She paused to look at herself in the mirror. "I look good, but I feel like crap," she said. Her hair was pulled over her right shoulder. It was simple but very elegant. "Nervous is one of my very least favorite emotions," she whined to herself. On Phaedos, she had no real need to feel nervous. She didn't sleep, she basically couldn't die, and there wasn't a beast on the entire planet she couldn't kill. But there also wasn't any need to feel love, or even friendship. What she felt now was horrifying. Her stomach felt all swollen, she felt like she needed to burst into tears or throw up, and Kimberly had said something about having flying insects in her digestive tract. "The prom had better be worth this trouble."

"I assure you it is," Bulk said from the door to her basement apartment.

"Bulk!" Dulcea cried happily. She turned to cross the room. After tripping a few times, she slowed down and eventually made it to the door. "Hello Bulk. You look handsome today."

"Thank you," he said. "You look gorgeous."

"I feel ridiculous," she answered, pulling the hemline down and shifting around in the dress. "And I hate these shoes."

"You look great," he said. "Oh. Here." He handed her a wrist corsage of white roses.

Dulcea accepted it and stared it at blankly. "What is this?"

"It's a wrist corsage," he said. Silently, he hoped corsage wasn't the name of a monster on Phaedos.

"That doesn't tell me much," she said. "I know I'm kind of stupid about these things, but..."

"That's okay," Bulk said. "You're new to the planet. Here. You wear it on your wrist." He took her left arm and carefully guided the elastic band over her hand.

"It's pretty," she said. "Kimberly gave me something to give you. I don't remember what she called it, but she said you would know what to do with it." Dulcea shuffled across the room and picked up a small white rose in a plastic box.

"Boutonniere," Bulk answered.

"Ummm, okay," Dulcea said as she shuffled back to him. She handed him the box and said, "here."

Bulk laughed and pinned the white rose to his lapel. "Ready?"  
  


* * *

  


The thirteen Rangers, plus Dulcea, Emily, and Marge, met at Bolton's Landing, one of Angel Grove's medium restaurants. Not extremely dressy, yet still capable of serving a nice dinner.

"You have a beautiful name," Emily told Dulcea. "What does it mean?"

"Where I come from," Dulcea said, "it means 'heavenly voice over still waters.'"

"That's beautiful," Marge said.

"Thank you," Dulcea answered, blushing at her attention.

"Your room is ready," the hostess said. The fifteen well-dressed teenagers, and the twenty-thousand year old Warrior, stood up and followed her to their dining room.  
  


* * *

  


Dulcea burst into a wide smile as soon as she entered the gym on Bulk's arm. "It's gorgeous," she sighed. A large silver banner with the words "Hold Onto the Night" in bright blue letters hung over the stage. Tiny white lights hung from the ceiling, looking like tiny stars against the black background. A floating candle was at each table. Concentric circles of light, reflected from the water the candles were floating in, sent bright sparks of light from the glitter and sequins scattered on the table. A large video screen was set up against one wall, and enough lights capable of putting on a laser show were mounted all around it. Small trees with white Christmas lights on them stood around the walls of the gym. "This is the prom?" she asked happily. "It almost makes wearing these shoes worth it."

"It is beautiful, isn't it?" Bulk whispered to her.

"What do we do here?" she whispered back.

"We dance," Bulk said.

"Dance," Dulcea pondered. "Is that where you move your body with the music?"

"That's one way of putting it," Bulk said.

"I'm supposed to dance in these shoes!" Dulcea cried, quite a bit louder than she originally intended to.   
  


* * *

  


"You're too tense," Bulk told her. "Loosen up."

"Sorry," Dulcea stammered. "I'm new to th- Ow! I hate these shoes."

"Take them off," Bulk said.

"I can do that?" Dulcea asked. Without even waiting to hear what he had to say, she stepped out of both of her shoes and kicked them aside. "That's much better."

"You'll want to keep them," Bulk said. "We'll take them back to the table after this dance."

"I like music," Dulcea said.

"Do you like Earth?" Bulk whispered.

Dulcea leaned close and whispered, "I love it here."  
  


* * *

  


The garter song was the highlight of the evening. That is the song where the man removes the garter from his date's leg and places it on his right arm, signifying that they spent the night together. The garter song was also the theme song, "Hold Onto the Night." It was also the one dance where the chaperones tended to overlook kissing or extreme closeness.

Dulcea looked around at her dancing friends. Tommy and Kat were looking into each other's eyes with love, Tanya rested her head against Adam's shoulder, Skull gave Kimberly a small kiss, as did Jason to Emily. Trini nuzzled the side of her face against Billy's shoulder, while Aisha and Zack just gazed at each other with bright eyes and wide smiles. Rocky and Marge weren't very intimate, as they had just started dating, but they were the only exception. This, however, never occurred to Dulcea.

"Am I supposed to kiss you?" she whispered.

Bulk turned a bright red. "People only kiss when they're in love, or want to be in love, or something like that," Bulk said nervously.

"How do you know?"

"I'm not really sure," Bulk said. "I've never been in love."

"Me neither," Dulcea said. "Does it feel anything like being really good friends?"

"I suppose it would," Bulk said.

"Or maybe wanting to share the rest of your life with a person?" Dulcea asked. "You know, so you could mate and have children, and grow old together."

"I guess so."

"So that would mean you're in love?"

"That's my guess."

Dulcea suddenly leaned toward Bulk's face. Keeping her lips firmly pressed together, she pressed them against Bulk's. "That's it?" Dulcea thought grimly. "That was more effort than it was worth." Out loud, she asked, "Did I do that right?"

"Not quite," Bulk said.

"Can I try again?"

"If you want to," Bulk said.

"Do you want me to?"

"Yeah," Bulk said a bit too eagerly. "If you want to."

"Well, tell me how."

"I'm not real sure myself. I haven't had many girlfriends. None, in fact."

Dulcea looked to her right briefly at Kimberly and Skull. "Perfect timing," she thought. She watched as they shared a delicate kiss.

"Turn my head," she thought to herself, "place my hands on Bulk's face, open my lips a little, and touch lips. Or I can do like those two over there in the corner and move my lips around a whole lot."

"Can I try now?"

"Yeah," Bulk stammered.

Dulcea put her hands on both sides of his face, opened her lips slightly, and moved toward him. As soon as their lips met, a fire raged through her that told her she finally had it figured out. Although their kiss was brief, it was a real kiss.

"Wow," she said happily. "That was fun. Can I do it again?" Before Bulk could say anything, she moved in to give him another kiss, this one a bit more passionate than the previous.  
  


* * *

  


"Check that out," Trini whispered. She pointed a finger at Dulcea and Bulk, who were sharing a slow, passionate kiss.

"They actually make a cute couple," Billy said.

Dulcea began to work her mouth around Bulk's. "She's really getting into that kiss," Trini said.

"I think she's giving him the tongue," Billy said in awe.

"She's gonna suck his tonsils out if she isn't careful," Trini said.

"Bulk looks scared," Billy said.

Kimberly and Skull suddenly danced up to Billy and Trini. "Are you two watching this?" Kimberly asked.

"If somebody doesn't stop her, Bulk is going to have a heart attack," Skull said.

Trini and Kimberly left their boyfriends alone to give Dulcea a crash course in kissing-in-public etiquette.  
  


* * *

  


"I have never been so embarrassed," Dulcea said. She sat down on the couch and rested her face against her hands.

"Don't worry about it," Kimberly said. "You're new-"

"Shh," Trini said as Emily and Marge came in the bathroom.

"What happened out there?" Marge asked.

"Dulcea just got a little bit carried away in the heat of the moment," Kimberly said.

"Apparently so," Emily said.

"I'm new to your country," Dulcea said. "I don't completely understand your ways, yet."

"Where are you from, exactly?" Marge asked.

"Australia," Kimberly answered for her.

"Oh," Emily said. "We thought maybe you had some ties with the Rangers."

Trini laughed nervously and asked, "Why do you say that?"

Marge and Emily gave each other a sideways glance. "No reason," they said in unison.  
  


* * *

  


Lt. Stone stared at one of his fellow chaperones. She wasn't attractive, at least not in a conventional way, but he really liked her. She was really nice. And she had a wry sense of humor that he doubted her students actually appreciated. He decided that during the next slow song, he would ask her to dance. Definitely during the next slow song.

Suddenly, a loud shriek came from outside the gym. He hurried over to the door, flung it open, and looked out into the darkness. Hundreds of Tengas were descending upon the parking lot.  
  


* * *

  


Zack and Aisha were dancing as both of their communicators went off. Both Rangers tensed up. They weren't on active duty. If they were being called into battle, something bad was up.  
  


* * *

  


Rebecca, David, and Justin Cranston all tensed up as soon as the six-tone alarm pierced the quiet of the theater. "I'll be right back," Justin whispered. He quickly hurried to the bathroom. "I read you."

"Justin," Alpha said, "there are hundreds of Tengas at the high school. You have to hurry and get over there!"

"I'm already on my way," Justin said. A few sparkles of blue light hit the floor as he teleported out of the theater.  
  


* * *

  


The thirteen Rangers plus Dulcea hurried outside as quickly as they could with eliciting any undue attention. "We have to morph!" Kimberly cried. "We can't fight in these dresses!"

"It's Morphin Time!" Aisha cried.

"WHITE TIGER --- BEAR!!!"

"GREEN DRAGON --- RABBITT!!!"

"MASTODON --- GIRAFFE!!!"

"PTERODACTYL --- CRANE!!!"

"TRICERATOPS --- WOLF!!!"

"SABER-TOOTH TIGER --- DOVE!!!"

"ZEO RANGER III, BLUE --- APE!!"

"ZEO RANGER V, RED --- FALCON!!!"

"GOLD RANGER POWER --- LION!!!"

"Shift Into Turbo!" Jason bellowed.

"MOUNTAIN BLASTER TURBO POWER!!!"

"DESERT THUNDER TURBO POWER!!!"

"DUNE STAR TURBO POWER!!!"

"WIND CHASER TURBO POWER!!!"

"RED LIGHTNING TURBO POWER!!!"

Dulcea pressed the button on her communicator and said, "Are we ready to give it a try, Alpha?"

"I believe it is ready, Dulcea."

"Let's give it a shot," Dulcea said. She twisted the top of her communicator, revealing a small green button. "Warrior Mode, Power Up!!!" She pushed the button, and in a flash of green light, she morphed into her green bikini. Her fighting skills weren't altered in any way, although the twin sticks were in her hands.

Spinning them in her hands, a horrible screeching sound began to fill the air. However, Zedd's super charged Tengas were apparently not as sensitive to sound as the previous birds. She snapped the two back together, forming a long Bo.  
  


* * *

  


"Have you seen Rocky?" Marge asked Emily.

"There are a bunch of those birds outside," Emily said.

"Figures," Marge said. "You know, they really don't do a very good job of keeping their secret."

"I've noticed that, too," Emily said. "Last summer at the Beach Club, the Gold Ranger kept on referring to me by name."

"Maybe they're kind of like Santa Claus," Marge suggested.

"Well, I do think Jason is the red one again," Emily said. "He seems to be a whole lot busier again."

"I think Rocky might be blue," Marge said.

"Didn't you and Billy have a thing once?" Emily asked.

"Sort of," Marge said. "You think he was a blue one, too?"

"Well, he has taken to wearing a lot more blue lately, and the original Dinosaur Rangers have been seen around on occasion."  
  


* * *

  


"Wind Fire!!!"

"Power Bow!!!"

The two Pink Rangers lined up and held their bows out before them. "Cool," they said in unison. Keeping in perfect tandem, they flipped forward and jumped into battle.

Dulcea planted her bo against the ground and pole vaulted over a crowd of Tengas. As soon as she hit the ground, she swept the bo beneath their feet.

"It's time for a Gold Rush!!!" Bulk shouted. The Golden Power Staff was sufficiently charged, and ready for action. He pointed it at the thickest crowd of birds and let the attack fly. Hundreds of balls of golden fire burst from its tip and entered the crowd of Tengas. Screams of pain and anger filled the air.

Tommy and Jason summoned their Power Swords and jumped into the crowd to finish the last remaining Tengas.

Aisha bellowed, "SABBA SABER!!!" In a flash of white light, her sentient saber appeared in her hand. "Ready to kick some Tenga?!"

"Let's do it!" Sabba agreed. He flew from her hand and began to circle the group of birds.  
  


* * *

  


Zack swung his Axe at a Tenga on the ground. The Axe moved cleanly through its body, causing the Tenga to explode in black light. "All right!" Zack cried.

"That's all of 'em!" Dulcea said happily.

"Here comes Lt. Stone!" Justin cried.

"Oh no," Dulcea said. She ducked behind Bulk and quickly pressed the teleport button on her communicator. A white streak of light darted through the air and leveled off high above California. At a fantastic speed, it crossed the entire United States and began its journey across the Atlantic Ocean. Just a few moments later, the streak of light passed across England, causing many to think they had caught a glimpse of a shooting star. The light reached the end of the continent and began to travel across the wide Pacific ocean. The coast of North America suddenly appeared on the horizon. The light slowed down and headed for the town of Angel Grove. As it descended from the heavens, it began to move toward the High School. The light slowed greatly and lowered into the school. The white stream of light landed in a darkened hallway, temporarily lighting it up. A pair of blue pumps at the bottom of a pair of shapely legs was the first thing visible as the light changed into its true form. Dulcea straightened her dress and quickly walked to where the Rangers would be.

"What was that?" Lt. Stone asked.

Dulcea ran out of the prom about four seconds after she had teleported away. "Lieutenant Stone," Dulcea acknowledged, putting her hand in a salute.

"Sergeant Phaedos," Lt. Stone said, returning the salute.

"What are the Power Rangers doing here?" Dulcea asked.

"I'm not sure," he answered. "I was hoping they could tell me."

Blue Triceratops Ranger stepped forward. "We came here after a massive flock of Tengas threatened to cause some trouble," he answered.

"We have to be going now," Blue Turbo Ranger said.

Lt. Stone looked at the Ranger. His voice was distorted slightly, but it sounded a little bit like a kid. Before he could say anything, all fourteen Rangers teleported away in bright streams of light.  
  


* * *

  


"Zeddie, I'm bored," Rita complained.

"What do you expect me to do about?" he asked. He moved his Bishop and said, "Checkmate."

"Blast!" Rygog bellowed. He examined the chess board, trying to find a hole in Zedd's defense.

"Entertain me!" Rita screamed.

Rygog moved his Queen and said, "Checkmate yourself. Hahahaha!"

"Blasted woman!" Zedd shouted. "You made me lose my concentration!!!"

Rita knocked Zedd off of his chair with her staff. "I'll make you lose your concentration," Rita muttered.

"Rita," Diva Tox called. She entered the game room and said, "Jenga and I are going down to the After-Prom party. Wanna come?"

"Gonna cause some trouble?"

"No, we're just gonna go see if we can win any door prizes," Diva Tox answered truthfully. "You'll need to disguise yourself as a teenager, though."

"Why not?" Rita said. "Better than staying up here with Mr. Personality."

"Don't start with me woman," Zedd threatened.

"Or you'll do what?"

"I don't know," Lord Zedd said as the two women left the room, "but it'll be bad."

"You're a lucky man, Zedd," Rygog growled.  
  


* * *

  


"Last dance," the D.J. said. "You should make it last."

"This is it," Lt. Stone said. "This time, I'm really gonna ask her." We walked up to Ms. Appleby and asked, "May I have the pleasure of this dance?"

"Certainly," she said.  
  


* * *

  


"How about Rochelle?" Jenga asked.

"Unnngh," Rita growled in disapproval.

"Alicia?" Diva Tox asked. "Or Cher?"

"As if," Rita said.

"How about Amy Jo?" Jenga asked.

"Or Catherine?" Diva Tox suggested.

"Certainly not Catherine," Rita said. "I don't want anyone mistaking me for a Power Ranger."

"Spell it with a C," Jenga said.

"Not even."

"How about Rikki?"

"I do like her talk show," Rita said. "On today's show, Siamese twin sumo wrestlers and the women they love."

"Okay," Jenga said. She produced a ticket with the name Rikki Richmond written on it. "I'm Jennifer Baal, and Diva is Debbie Cunningham."

"Got it," Rita said.

"Now, we just have to make you look like a teenager," Jenga said. "Now, I tend to go as a gorgeous blonde, and Diva makes herself look like a beautiful black woman. We could use a redhead."

Rita summoned her staff and waved it in front of her body. Immediately, her gown changed into a pair of black jeans and a purple sweater. Her hair fell from its cones and cascaded down her back in silky red curls. Her eyes were a vibrant blue, and her features were changed just slightly so as to make her look young. "How's this?" Rita purred.

"Wow," Jenga said. "I'm almost impressed." She ran her fingers through her hair and bent forward. When she looked back up, she was a changed women. "Name is Jennifer. Nice to meet you."

"Call me ... Debbie," Diva Tox said.

"Nice braids," Rita said.

"I like 'em."

"Wait for us!" Scorpina cried. She ran onto the balcony, already dressed as her alter-ego Sabrina. Her facial features were changed only enough so she wouldn't be recognized by Adam.

"What can you do for us?" Archerina asked.

"Cakewalk," Jenga said. She pointed her staff at Queen Machina and Archerina. In a brilliant blue flash, they were hidden behind a human appearance. Queen Machina was a beautiful Italian, while Archerina looked very European with curly brown hair.

"Cool," Archerina said, examining her flesh body.

"You'll be Mishi and you'll be Ariana," Jenga said. "The prom is almost over, so let's hit the town."  
  


* * *

  


"Jump Kim jump!!!" Skull shouted.

"Drag her Billy!" Trini encouraged.

Kimberly burst into a hysterical fit of laughter as she and Billy fell to the ground in a painful heap. Billy watched as Jason and Bulk hobbled past them. "No!" Kimberly laughed. "We gotta get up!"

"You guys are losin'!" Zack shouted as he and Tanya walked past them. 

"Inside outside inside outside," Tanya chanted.

Billy put his arm around Kimberly and helped her up. "Come on," he said, taking a big step and dragging her with him.

"I'm getting rope burn!" Kimberly laughed.  
  


* * *

  


"This is fun!" Ariana cried, jumping up and down and clapping her hands.

"What is that called?" Mishi asked.

"Three-legged race," Rikki answered. "This is fun. I'm gonna have to come to Earth more often."

"Oo look!" Debbie cried happily. "Billy and Kimberly just fell down again!!!"

"How did they pick partners for this thing?" Sabrina asked.

"They drew names," Jennifer said. "Guess who gets to go in the next round?"

"Who's your partner?" Rikki asked.

"A little floozy named Dulcea," Jennifer said. "I'm afraid she'll recognize me."

"Excuse me," Lt. Stone said as he interrupted the six ladies. "Is one of you Rikki Richmond?"

"That's me," the redhead said.

"You've been partnered up for the next race with Tommy Oliver," he said. Sabrina burst into a hysterical fit of laughter.

"Well, isn't this an interesting turn of events," Rikki growled.  
  


* * *

  


Through an extremely unlikely turn of events, Billy and Kimberly caught up with Jason and Bulk and actually came in second. They untied themselves, still laughing, as the second round of Three-legged Racers tied themselves together.

Jennifer approached the tall woman in the jeans and t-shirt. "Hi," Jennifer said. "My name's Jennifer. They drew our names for the race."

"Dulcea," she said, introducing herself with a handshake. There was something very familiar about this girl. "Do I know you?"

"I don't believe so," Jennifer said. "I just moved here about a week ago."

"Oh," Dulcea said. "You must remind me of someone."

Jennifer pushed her silky blonde hair over her right shoulder. "I just have one of those faces," she said.

"Well, let's get ourselves tied up," Dulcea said.  
  


* * *

  


"Hello Tommy," Rikki growled. She handed him the length of rope that was given to her. "I'm your freakin' partner."

"You must be Rikki," Tommy said, forcing a smile. "Tommy Oliver."

"I know who you are, hair boy," Rikki said. "Just tie yourself to me and let's get this over with."

Tommy looked at the ground and then back up at her. "You don't have to do this, if you don't want to," he said.

"Good," Rikki grunted, walking away.

"She had a bit of attitude," Aisha said.

"Tell me about it," Tommy said. "Wanna be my partner?"  
  


* * *

  


"We're gonna win!" Dulcea cried happily.

Dulcea and Jennifer were almost to the finish line when Jennifer suddenly misstepped. Her inside foot twisted around Dulcea's, causing the taller woman to crash into the floor. Ordinarily, they both would have fallen. However, Jennifer was no ordinary woman. She remained standing as Dulcea hit the ground with a sickening crack.

With a slight cry of pain, Dulcea's hands went to the rope. She quickly untied and cradled her foot. "My ankle," she sighed, wincing at the pain.

"Are you okay?" Jennifer asked, looking down at her. Dulcea immediately knew who she was.

"You," Dulcea growled. Jenga's eyes flashed green and she raised her eyebrows. A wicked smile crossed her face. "I'll be fine," Dulcea said.

Bulk was suddenly at her side. "What happened?" he asked. He reached out to touch her ankle and realized it was in bad shape. "Dulcea, I think it's broken."

"I think that's a pretty safe bet to place," Dulcea said.

"I see you still haven't gotten the native dialects just yet," Jennifer taunted.

"Here's something I've gotten," Dulcea said. "Go bend yourself."

"Get bent," Jenga said exasperatedly.  
  


* * *

  


"Everybody sure made a fuss over me tonight," Dulcea said. "The After-Prom Party nearly stopped."

"Stop avoiding the question," Aisha said. "Was it Jenga?"

"Yes," Dulcea whispered. "I'm positive it was Jenga. You all didn't have to come here with me. You're missing your After-Prom. Why don't you go back? Alpha will have me fixed up good as glue in no time."

"Good as new," Jason said. "Not glue."

"Whatever," Dulcea said. "Please go back. I'll be fine."

"She's right, guys," Tommy said. "She'll be okay."

"Besides, if Jenga is running loose at the After-Prom, there should be some Rangers there," Adam said.

"We'll take good care of her," Catalina said with a smile. "Now go have fun."  
  


* * *

  


"I am going to go to sleep and wake up in a few weeks," Kimberly complained as she and Billy got out of his car. The gang had pretty much gone their separate ways after the prom. It was just before dawn, and the street looked eerie in the near-darkness.

"I bet Justin'll wake you up before noon," Billy said.

"Probably," Kimberly said. "If he does, I'm waking you up."

"I bet you will, too," Billy said.

"This is so cool," Kimberly said after a moment of silence.

"What is?" Billy asked.

"Us," Kimberly said. "I mean, just look at how well everything came together. We're all Rangers again, even if we aren't active. I'm back in Angel Grove, and best yet, I have two brothers. Sort of. Well, three counting my real brother. Your parents were great to let me stay here."

"They're glad to have you," Billy said. "Justin too."

"Can you believe how lucky he is," Kimberly said. "His parents actually know he's a Ranger. He doesn't have to make up excuses like we did."

"Kept us on our toes," Billy said.  
  


* * *

  
  
Three weeks later...  


Tanya, Adam, Rocky, and Jason simultaneously executed a perfect side kick. "They're looking really good," Bulk said as he joined Kimberly and Katherine at a table.

"They've been practicing since the prom," Kimberly said.

"We used to have competitions all the time," Bulk said.

"Back in the good ole days," Kimberly said.

The four martial artists bowed to each other, and then walked off of the mats.

"What are you all wearing next Saturday?" Tanya asked. "Aren't we supposed to tell them ahead of time?"

"Black gi pants, our belts, and we're going topless," Adam said. "You can too, if you want."

"Yeah," Tanya laughed. "I bet you'd like that."

"I think we'd all like that," Rocky said.

"You're going shirtless, Adam?" Kimberly asked, surprised. He wasn't the type to flaunt his body around like Jason, Rocky, and Tommy.

"I've been lifting hard for the past year," Adam said. "Next weekend, I'm gonna show off."

"What are you going to do?" Katherine asked. "You can't go topless."

"I guess I'll wear a tight-fitting top," Tanya said. "I want something I can move in." Before anyone could say another word, four communicators beeped.

"See you all later," Adam said as the four Turbo Rangers left the Juice Bar.

"Come on," Kimberly said to Rocky. "I'll help you spar."  
  


* * *

  
Friday afternoon in Geneva  


"Hey Trini," Billy said.

"Come on in," she said, looking up from her notebook.

"Zack and I were in the library, and we came across this," he said. He put a yellow flyer before her.

"Cool," Trini said as her eyes scanned the paper and absorbed the information. "World renowned scientist."

"Are you doing anything tomorrow?" Billy asked. "Zack and I asked about it. It's supposed to be a really cool show."

"What does Dr. Hill, expert on String Theory, do?" Trini asked, reading from the flyer.

"He claims to have a fantastic slide show of actual experiments that almost worked and 3-D renderings of his theories," Billy said. "That doesn't sound like much fun, but it's supposed to be really cool."

"Let's do it," Trini said.  
  


* * *

  
Saturday Morning in Angel Grove  


Jason, Rocky, and Adam walked out of the Locker Room, ready to fight. The only distinguishing clothing between them was their colored headband.

"He really has bulked up," Katherine said in awe. While Adam wasn't as defined as Jason or Rocky, his lean frame held considerably more muscle than it had previously.

"Adam's been lifting hard for a pretty good while now," Skull said. "I think I'm gonna take up weight-lifting."

"Hi guys," Bulk said as he and Dulcea hobbled into the Juice Bar. She had her arm wrapped around his neck and hopped along on her good foot.

"You're just in time," Kimberly said.

"Where's Tanya?" Dulcea asked.

"She's still getting ready," Katherine said. "She's really nervous."  
  


* * *

  


"Not as big of a turn out as I expected," Billy said. There were only about three dozen people at the Science Hall.

"I think that's Dr. Hill," Trini said, pointing to a distinguished elderly man.

"Let's go talk to him," Zack said, "since nobody else is."

After a brief introduction, Dr. Hill began to tell them about his views on a variety of things. Billy had no problem keeping up with his theories, Trini did a fair job, but Zack couldn't follow a thing he was saying. He just stared at them during the duration of their conversation, pretending he knew what they were talking about.  
  


* * *

  


"They're really doing good," Kimberly said happy. Jason and Tanya were currently double-teamed against two of their competitors.

"I think Rocky and Adam are ready to fight," Dulcea observed. The two teens stood beside the ring, ready to be tagged and take over.

"End Round Five," a loud voice said. "Switch."

Jason and Tanya left the ring as Rocky and Adam crawled through.  
  


* * *

  


"This," Dr. Hill said, "is my proof." He pulled a white cloth off of a small, silver machine.

"Well that looks interesting," Zack said.

"What does it do?" Trini asked.

"With this device, I have sent waves of energy across the dimensional barrier," Dr. Hill said.

"How do you know?" Billy asked. "How can you be sure?"

"Well, energy can't be destroyed," Dr. Hill said. "If it isn't going to a different dimension, then I've found a way to destroy energy without using nuclear power. Here, I'll demonstrate."

They watched as Dr. Hill set up a complicate system of mirrors, smoke, and lasers. He positioned the machine, and turned it on. "Now watch," he said. "You will see the laser completely disappear. It actually bends toward the machine as it leaves this dimension."

"Like a vortex," Trini said.

"Correct," Dr. Hill said.

He pushed a button on the machine. Immediately, a powerful beam of white light burst from the machine. The white light engulfed the three teens, temporarily blinding everyone in the room.  
  


* * *

  


Dulcea gave a slight cry. "What's wrong?" Bulk asked.

"I don't know," she said. "I just ... I don't know. Just a weird feeling, I guess."  
  


* * *

  


Dr. Hill looked at the empty spot where the three teenagers had been standing. With a happy cry, he returned to his natural form. Long red hair cascaded down his back as his masculine body turned back into its true feminine form.

"We did it!" Jenga cried happily. "We just got rid of three Rangers!!!"

The room's occupants immediately turned back into various henchmen and Tengas. "They're really gone this time?!" Rygog asked.

"Are they dead?!" Rito shouted.

"They might as well be," Jenga said, "cause they ain't coming back here again!!!"  
  


* * *

  


Trini found herself flying down a tunnel full of twists, turns, loops, and spirals. The tunnel wasn't solid in nature, but was instead composed of colors and light. Colors continually shifted all about her, going through every color of the rainbow. She realized that she wasn't in her body, at least not in the sense she was used to.

Then, just as quickly as her journey down the tunnel began, it ended. She felt herself become solid again, and was dumped from the tunnel of light.

"Ow," she complained as she slammed into the hard ground.

"What was that all about?" Zack complained. He sat up on the ground beside her.

Suddenly, white light flashed above them. Billy flew from the light and landed on the both of them. "That was weird," he complained.

"What happened?" Trini asked, pushing Billy off of her and standing up.

"I don't know," he admitted.

"I'd be happy just knowing where we are," Zack said.

"This looks a little bit like Angel Grove," Billy said. He stood up and looked around him. "Only a bit more run-down."

"A bit?" Trini asked. The buildings around them were covered with graffiti. Cracks lined the sidewalk, and nothing was clean.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Zack said.

"I think I know what happened," Billy said, "I just don't know why or how."

"What happened?" Zack asked.

"Dr. Hill's machine sent us to another dimension," Trini answered. Just a few seconds later, all three communicators beeped.

"Should we answer it?" Zack asked.

"I doubt it's for us," Billy said.

"We read you, Zordon," Tommy's voice said over the communicator.

"Rangers," Zordon said, "The Dynasty has not been heard from in some time. I feel that now is the perfect time to attack. There are some helpless children in the park."

"All right," Tommy said. "We've been getting bored around here. We're on it. Tommy out."

"This is Anti-Earth," Trini said. "Where the Evil Rangers came from. I almost guarantee it."

"We better get to the park," Zack said. "We may not be Rangers from this world, but we still swore to protect the innocent."

"If this is laid out like our Angel Grove, we'll never get there on foot," Trini said. "Let's try and teleport."

The three teens gave each other a nervous glance, and pressed the teleport button.  
  


* * *

  


Ernie put their trophy in his display case. "Angel Grove brings another one home," he said. Without warning, everyone's communicators beeped. "That's never a good sound," he muttered.

"We'll catch you later, Ernie," Tanya said. The teenagers and Dulcea quickly found an isolated place and teleported to the Command Center.  
  


* * *

  


"It worked," Zack said with a sigh of relief.

"I don't see any Rangers," Trini said.

"No," Billy said, "but there are the kids." The three teens ran toward the kids, ready to protect them if the Evil Rangers did, in fact, show up.

Suddenly, thirteen teleportation streams landed all about them. The children screamed, realizing that the Power Rangers had come for them.

"Whoa," Zack said, putting his arms out to stop Trini and Billy. "We can't go up there unmorphed."

"Will our power work on this world?" Trini asked.

"They should," Billy said. "It's Morphin Time!!!"

"MASTODON --- GIRAFFE!!!"

"TRICERATOPS --- WOLF!!!"

"SABER-TOOTH TIGER --- DOVE!!!"

"I wonder if they'll remember us," Zack asked as the three Rangers ran across the park.

"I doubt it," Billy said. "We met them in a pseudo-time."

"We can't just go attack thirteen Rangers," Trini said. "We wouldn't stand a chance."

"They aren't attacking yet, anyhow," Billy said. The three Rangers slowed to a halt. The thirteen Evil Rangers slowly circled the small group of terrified children.

The Evil Black Ranger raised his Power Axe high above his head. "Let's shed some blood," he growled.

"NO!" Zack cried. He tapped his Morpher/Belt Buckle and teleported the distance between them in a split second. He swung his own Power Axe at Anti-Zack's. The Axe flew from the Evil Ranger's hands, temporarily startling all of them. "Why don't you pick on somebody your own size?"

"Another Black Ranger," Anti-Tommy said in awe. Billy and Trini suddenly appeared beside Zack in two glimmers of blue and yellow light.

"Three new Rangers, actually," Billy said.

"And we aren't evil," Trini said.  
  


* * *

  


"Jenga!" Rita cried. The Space Alien, forever cursed to look evil while her soul was actually filled with the spirit of an angel, ran down the corridors of the palace. "Somebody! Anybody! The Rangers are about to attack some children in the park!"

Rito appeared beside his sister in a glimmer of light. "What?" he asked.

"Zordon and Catalina have sent the Rangers out to attack again," Rita said. "We have to go help them!"

Rito gritted his teeth in anger. It was one thing to have put a curse on his family, making them all look evil. It was another thing entirely, however, to attack those who couldn't defend themselves. "Go find Goldar," Rito said, "and tell him to meet me at the park. As soon as you find Dad or Zedd, tell them to send some Tengas." The skeleton teleported away in a flash of white light.  
  


* * *

  


Rito dropped out of the sky and ran at the Rangers. "Hey!" he shouted. "Why don't you pick on somebody your own size!!!"

"Rito?" Billy asked.

"If this is Anti-Earth," Zack began, blocking a blast from Adam's Thunder Cannon, "then Rito would be good." He kicked at Adam, connecting solidly with his stomach.

"But he's gonna think we're evil!" Trini cried.

Jenga, Diva, and Scorpina suddenly appeared in a bright white flash. "Leave those kids alone!" Scorpina cried. She withdrew her scimitar and prepared to defend herself.

"Wait a minute," Jenga said. "There are sixteen Rangers."

Billy ran out of battle and up to Jenga. She withdrew her silver Sword, although she didn't use it on him. "Wait a minute," Billy said, putting his Power Lance away. He held up his hands, showing he meant no harm. "We're not with them."

"Who are you?" Jenga asked. Crowds of Tengas suddenly dropped out of the air all around them. When Zack and Trini saw that they were no longer needed to fight the Rangers, they ran over to Billy and Jenga.

"Let's show her who we are," Billy said. All three Rangers removed their helmets, showing Jenga their true identity.

"Forgive me," she said, "but I think I'll just leave my Sword out for awhile longer."

"We understand perfectly," Trini said. "We are from an alternate dimension."

"We come from an Earth where the Rangers are good," Zack said.

"If you really are from a different dimension, I have people in my Dynasty that could tell," Jenga said, keeping her face as expressionless as she could.

"Please do check," Billy said. "We mean you no harm. We were brought for reasons we don't entirely understand."

"Our only desire is to go home," Trini added.

Jenga looked at the three Rangers before them and then at their evil counterparts in battle. She put her Sword away and said, "Diva will take you back to the palace. Finster, Klank, and Orbus will perform the necessary tests to see if you are telling the truth. Do you consent?"

"Yes," Billy said. "We consent."  
  


* * *

  


"You're telling the truth," Finster said in awe.

"You believe us now?" Billy asked.

"I'm sorry I ever doubted you," Jenga said.

"I guess you are tired now," Rita said. "Would you like us to prepare some chambers for you?"

"I am tired," Zack said. "I don't suppose you have anyway to send us home?"

"Nay," Klank said. "Per'aps I can build somethin' for ye, but ih twill take much doing."

"I just have so many questions," Billy said.

"We can discuss things in the morning," Jenga said. "You should get your rest."  
  


* * *

  


Aisha sat on the floor of the Command Center. She hugged her knees close to her chest and sighed. "Have you found them yet, Alpha?" she asked.

"I'm afraid not, Aisha," the robot said. "It's almost like they disappeared from the face of the Earth!"

"Where's Catalina?" Justin asked.

"She has been searching for the Rangers herself," Zordon said.

Suddenly, the blue-haired mentor appeared in the Command Center. "I know what happened to them," she said sadly.

"What?" Katherine and Aisha asked in unison.

"I don't know exactly where they are," she said, "but they should be safe."

"What happened?" Dulcea asked.

"They've left this dimension," Catalina said. "I don't know how they left, why the left, or who might have made them leave, but they're gone."

"I think I could guess who," Bulk muttered.

"Well, how do we get them back?" Aisha asked, her lower lip trembling fearfully.

Catalina looked at the ground. She opened her mouth to say something, but she could not find the right words.

"If you knew," Aisha said, "I don't guess you would be trapped."

"Right," Catalina said softly. "They aren't in the exact same situation. They're somewhere in the loop. We just have to figure out which world they're on, and find some way to bring them back."

"How many dimensions are in the loop?" Adam asked.

"All of them," Catalina said, trying to avoid the frightening answer.

"Then how many dimension are there?" Rocky asked.

Catalina looked at the ground and then at Zordon. He nodded, implying that she should tell them. "It would be easier to count to infinity than to count the dimensions," she said. "The number is so high, I couldn't even begin to comprehend it."  
  


* * *

  


Catalina sat down beside Aisha. "Sure is beautiful, isn't it?" Catalina asked.

"It is," Aisha agreed.

"This is like the rock in _The Lion King_," Catalina observed. "Africa is a very beautiful place."

"This is where I come to think," Aisha said. "I've been up here many times since the Zeo quest."

The two women were silent for a few minutes. "We'll find him," Catalina said at last.

"Do you promise?" Aisha asked.

"No," Catalina said bluntly.

"You don't make promises you can't keep," Aisha said, wiping away a heavy tear. "Right?"

"I don't make any promises," Catalina said. "Even on sure things."

"Please don't lie to me," Aisha said. "If the odds are he isn't coming back, I'd rather know now than be destroyed later."

"I'm not lying," Catalina said. "I don't know how we'll get him, or Trini and Billy, for that matter, back, but we will find some way."

"The two smartest Rangers we've ever had are two of those lost," Aisha said.

"Not true," Catalina said. "Justin is just as smart as Billy. He's back at the Command Center right now working on a plan with Alpha. Now look, it's going to be dark soon. Shouldn't you get going back to your village?"

"It's not far," Aisha said. "About a fifteen minute walk. Would you care to join me?"

"Sure," Catalina said. "And after this, I'll go search for them myself."

"Thank you," Aisha said as she and Catalina started back toward her village.  
  


* * *

  


"Rise and shine," a very friendly voice said. Zack opened his eyes to see Scorpina standing above him.

"Good morning," he answered.

"Whenever you're ready," Scorpina said, "I can fix you some breakfast. There's a bathroom in the next room over, and Porto took the liberty of preparing you some clothes. We're all around. Just give a holler and somebody will be right in."

"Thanks," Zack answered, somewhat skittish by being waited on by Scorpina. It was definitely going to take some time getting used to that.  
  


* * *

  


When Zack finally made his appearance in the main palatial room, Billy and Trini were already engrossed in a conversation with Jenga and Rita.

"On our world, you're names are Rita Repulsa, Rito Revolto, MasterVile, and Diva Tox," Trini said.

"Rita Repulsa?" Rita asked in horror. "That's crude."

"Your counterparts are very crude," Billy said with a sheepish grin. "What do you go by here?"

"Rita Xett, now," Rita said. "Before, I was Rita Vale, not Vile."

"So your Dad is," Trini began.

"Master Vale," Jenga said. "He's my husband, here. How about on your world?"

"Jenga and Vile are married back home," Billy said.

"I guess you're also wondering about our looks," Rita said.

"Yeah," Trini said. It was very perplexing that these beings of extreme good could look just like their evil counterparts back home.

"Master Vale, Rita, Rito, Porto, Elgar, Rygog, Zedd, Baboo, Squatt, Scorpina, and Ivan were all cursed, a long time ago, by Catalina," Jenga said.

"Even though our bodies contain the spirit of an angel," Rita said, "we've been cursed to look like demons. She thought that if we looked horrible and frightening, then people would attack us, keeping us from helping them."

"Did it work?" Zack asked as he joined them.

"Yes," Rita answered. "That's why we formed the Dynasty here on the moon. We can oversee all of Angel Grove from here, and because we have some magic, we can teleport down there in just a matter of seconds."

"You're possessed by angels?" Trini asked in awe. "I didn't even know that happened."

"People can be possessed by demons," Jenga said. "It's just natural that people could be possessed by angels. But we don't like the word possession, because they connotes unwillingness."

"I guess that makes sense," Billy said.

"You're nervous, aren't you?" Jenga asked. "I can read people. And I can tell you're still very nervous."

"Our Jenga sort of ... tried to have her way with Billy, once," Zack said.

"Really?" Jenga asked, lifting her eyebrows.

"She managed to break into the Power Chamber," Trini said, "when they teleported Perkiz and me home from the moon after Jenga got me and Anti-Trini switched."

"Anti-Trini?" Rita asked.

"Yeah," Billy said. "Back during the Earth Crystals thing, Jenga brought the evil Rangers, we think from this world, to ours to attack us. During our first battle, we got our Trini's switched."

"Is there Perkiz on this world?" Trini asked.

"There used to be," Rita said.

"He turned evil on us," Jenga said sorrowfully. "He was killed in battle a few months ago."

"Oh," Trini said, disappointed. "Perkiz was killed on our world, too, after he turned good."

Jenga smiled a little to know that on at least one world, her favorite henchmen died a good person.

"Hey, wait a minute," Zack said as a sudden thought hit him. "You said there was a Catalina on this world. Right?"

"Right," Jenga said.

"On our world, she's a hologram," Zack said, "because she's out of the loop."

"And Catalina told us that there is only one other person out of the loop," Trini said.

"Catalina is flesh and blood here," Jenga said.

"Oh," Zack said. "Well, then what does being out of the loop mean, exactly?"

"All of the dimensions are connected," Jenga explained. "Quite literally connected. That's what enables the very rare crossing of dimensions. Like you three. Although I've never heard of anyone being out of the loop, I would assume that it means they are in their own private, pocket dimension that there is no access to. Except by holographic imagery, apparently."

Goldar suddenly rushed into the room. "Jenga, Rita," he growled, out of breath. "The Rangers have just launch a full attack on Angel Grove."

Jenga groaned and jumped to her feet. "Goldar, get a flock of our strongest Tengas together," Jenga said. "I'll find Rito, Elgar, and Rygog."

"We can help," Zack said.

"Yeah," Trini agreed. "We'll be glad to."

Jenga smiled and said, "Morph and go with Goldar."

"Right," Billy said. "It's Morphin Time!"  
  


* * *

  


"Hmmm," Justin wondered.

"What is it, Justin?" Alpha asked.

"I was just thinking of something," Justin answered. "Everything in this universe is made up of sub-atomic particles, right?"

"Essentially everything," Alpha said.

"Well," Justin said, "look at this. This is the energy signature of the sub-atomic particles of this universe. It's a standard. Everything that is made of atoms, us, the air, everything, has this energy signature in it's sub-atomic particles."

"Correct," Alpha said, "but I still don't see how that helps us."

"If we could find the energy signature of the dimension that they were sent to," Justin said, "then we could open a wormhole, if you will, to that dimension, and they could come back."

"But we don't have the energy signature of their dimension," Alpha said.

"Not yet, anyhow," Justin mused. "But I took some readings last night from where they disappeared."

"Justin," Alpha said. "You shouldn't have gone to Geneva without permission."

"I know," Justin said, "but I knew you would say yes, so I didn't see any need with asking. Anyhow, I found something very bizarre. There was a lot of residue energy just floating around. I analyzed it, and it's related to energy being put off from Zordon's tube."

"How so?" Zordon asked.

"Well, when you turn it upside, backwards, and mirror image it, it is identical to the energy from your tube," Justin said.

"The Earth Crystals!" Alpha cried.

"That would mean Jenga used the Anti-Earth Crystals to send them away," Justin said.

"But the Anti-Earth Crystals were destroyed when time was restored," Alpha said.

"Apparently not all of it," Justin said. "We at least know what dimension they are in, now. Right? Shouldn't they be on Anti-Earth?"  
  


* * *

  


"These Rangers fight dirty," Zack complained after the battle.

"Well, at least they retreated," Trini said gratefully.

"I'm ready to eat something," Billy said.

"I hear that," Zack agreed. "Let's go see if we can find some food."

"Hey, wait a minute," Trini said. Her hands went to her neck. "I've lost my necklace."

"What necklace?" Zack asked.

"The little smoky crystal heart necklace," she said.

"You didn't have it on this morning," Billy said.

"Are you sure?"

"Very sure," Billy answered.

"I must have lost it when we came here," Trini said. "Shoot. I really liked it, too."  
  


* * *

  


"Shoot!" Justin bellowed for lack of a better word.

"It won't work?" Katherine asked.

"Not without a piece of the Anti-Earth Crystal," Justin said. "Even though I can reproduce its energy pattern, without it, I can't open the portal. The only way I could hope to open a portal and keep it open for any length of time is if an identical portal were to open in their dimension. It's sort of like opening a door, only to find another locked door on the other side of the doorframe. If that second door isn't open, your key to the first door is useless."

"Is there anyway to get a message to them?" Jason asked.

"If I could get a message to them, I could bring them back," Justin said. "I'll just have the computers look for an abnormal energy reading that indicates someone from Anti-Earth is trying to open a portal here. As soon as it does, we'll get back here and open the portal on our side."  
  


* * *

  


"Mind if I join you?"

Trini looked up at Archerina standing in the doorway. "No, come on in," Trini said. The machine crossed the room and sat down beside Trini on her bed.

"Thinking about home?"

"Yeah," Trini said. "Wondering if I'll ever get back."

"Of course you will," Archerina said. "Billy, Finster, Klank, Orbus, and Porto are working on something as we speak."

Trini chuckled as Archerina rattled off the list of geniuses. "I guess it could be worse," Trini sighed. After a brief pause, she asked, "Can we go to Earth and look around?"

"Earth isn't safe," Archerina said. "Ninety-five percent of the population is evil. The only truly safe place is Vatican City."

"I don't understand that," Trini said. "If everything evil is good and everything good is evil, then why aren't religions evil?"

"Proof positive of a higher power, I guess," Archerina said. "Religion is good, but not many people follow it."

"I guess the truly evil people on my world are the good people here," Trini said.

"Rosie O'Donnell," Archerina said. "Is she good on your world? Cause she's really evil here."

"She's very good on our world," Trini said. "She gives a lot of time and money to charities. Who's a good person here?"

"Well, Charles Manson is the pope," Archerina said. "And Jeffery Dahmer is president."

"You're kidding," Trini said. "On my world, Charles Manson is a psychopath who killed a bunch of people and Jeffrey Dahmer, well he's dead now, but when he was alive he was a cannibal."

"There was a cannibal killer here a while back," Archerina said. "I believe his name was Richard Simmons."

"Richard Simmons is a dietitian on our world," Trini said thoughtfully. "Not a cannibal, though."

Orbus suddenly floated into the room. "Trini, Billy would like you to come help us in the lab. He believes he may have found a way home."  
  


* * *

  


"Trini," Porto said, "you're putting off a very unusual energy."

"What kind of energy?" she asked.

"It's the energy of the Anti-Earth Crystals," Billy said. "It's coming off of you like heat."

"I've got an idea," Finster said. "Somebody go find Zack. We're gonna send you home."  
  


* * *

  


"Everybody get to the Command Center now!" Justin cried over the communicators. "I think they're trying to come home!"  
  


* * *

  


"Take me with you!" Alejandro cried.

"No," Rocky said. "What I have to do won't take long."

"Well why can't I come?" Alex whined as Rocky jogged out of the house.

"Because I said so," Rocky growled.

Alex shouted angrily at his brother in Spanish, but Rocky ignored him and ran down the street. As soon as he was out of sight, he teleported away in a blue flash.   
  


* * *

  


"What are you gonna do?" Trini asked.

"For some reason, you have a very strong energy associated with you," Finster said. "This energy is actually stretched across the dimensional barrier, linking you to your home world. Long story short, I'm going to force you home and keep the wormhole open long enough for Billy and Zack to follow you."

"And this will work?" Zack asked. "Safely?"

"It should," Finster said. "Let's give it a shot."  
  


* * *

  


"We're almost ready, Alpha," Justin said into his communicator.

"Where do you want us to stand?" Jason asked.

"Just form a circle around me," Justin said. "You all are going to use your Power Coins to form an energy vortex. Just call on your Morpher and hold it out in front of you. Alpha is going to create the vortex, and I'm going to go back to the Command Center and send out an energy signal to call back the Anti-Earth Crystal signal." He teleported away in a flash of blue.

"Let's get 'em home, guys," Tommy said as he pulled his Morpher out of the air. He held it out in front of him, as did the others.  
  


* * *

  


"We're in!" Finster shouted. Trini was glowing a very bright yellow.

"Is it working?" Trini asked.

"It sure did," Finster said happily. "Trini, hold on tight." Immediately, the glowing yellow form of Trini exploded into a large circular window of light.

"Where did she go?" Zack asked.

"She's probably halfway home by now," Finster said. "You all go jump through."

Zack gave the white alien a smile and jumped into the portal.

"Thank you," Billy said. He ran over to the wormhole and jumped into it.  
  


* * *

  


"Trini!" Jason cried as the Yellow Ranger landed in the center of their circle with a white flash.

"Where are the others?" Aisha asked, still holding her White Morpher out before her.

"They're on their way," Trini said. Another white flash, and Zack flew of thin air.

"Come on, Billy," Kimberly said. A third flash followed, and Billy landed at her feet. "Billy!" she cried happily, bending down to help him up.

Billy looked up at the circle of Rangers. He saw the thin line of white light connected all of their morphers in a broad circle, and he could still feel the energy vortex. His mind quickly absorbed all of the information, and he realized with horror that Kimberly had just broken the circle.

"NO!" Billy cried. He started to jump to his feet to stop her from moving, but the circle was already warped.

The energy vortex moved on top of Kimberly. Rocky, Katherine, Jason, and Billy, those closest to Kimberly, were immediately caught in the invisible whirlpool and slammed into her. Tommy, Tanya, Adam, and Bulk, on the other side of the circle, were lifted off of the ground as the circle changed into a widely erratic oval. They flew through the air, reaching a height of twenty feet.

A powerful flash of white light filled the air, followed by an angry boom of thunder. Tommy, Tanya, Adam, and Bulk finally fell back to the Earth after having been thrown in a wide arc over the vortex.

A blue stream of light suddenly landed amongst them. "The vortex just exploded on itself," Justin said frantically. "Did somebody break it?" He then realized that five Rangers were missing, including his brother and "sister."

"What happened to them?" Tommy asked in a weak voice.

"They're gone," Justin said. "We just sent them to the same world Trini and Zack came from."

"Well let's just do it again and bring them back!" Skull demanded.

"We can't," Justin said in a meek voice. "They aren't putting off an energy signal. As soon as the vortex closed, the Command Center lost all ties. The energy was coming from Trini for some reason."

Trini looked down at the ground, and saw her smoky Crystal Heart, the last remnant of the Anti-Earth Crystals.  
  


* * *

  


"That was not fun in so many ways," Jason muttered.

"Whoever's on top of me," Katherine complained, "get off."

"Sorry," Rocky said. He rolled off of Kat's midsection and placed his hands on his spinning head.

"What happened?" Kimberly groaned.

Billy slowly made his way to his feet. "Oh no," he said. "Oh God no."

"Billy," Katherine said, "where are we?"

"We are on Anti-Earth," Billy answered. "The vortex shifted before it closed, and sucked us back in."

"We're in a different dimension?" Rocky asked in horror.

Suddenly, Jenga and Finster appeared near the five teens. "What are you doing back here?" Finster asked. "You only left about thirty seconds ago."

"We had a little accident," Billy said. "Zack and Trini made it home safe, but I was pulled back with four other friends."

"Come on," Jenga said, extending a hand to Jason who still lay flat on his back. He cautiously took her hand, allowing her to pull him to his feet. "Let's get to the moon before the Rangers show up."  
  


* * *

  


"I don't understand why it happened," Kimberly said. "What caused us to get pulled back in?"

"You say one of your alternate Rangers had an energy vortex set up," Finster said.

"With the Rangers' Power Coins acting as the corral, so to speak," Billy said. "I believe. I was only there for about ten seconds."

"Di' annie o' tha Rangers step outta position?" Klank asked.

"Oh no," Kimberly said as the truth struck her. "Oh my God. This is my fault."

"Don't say that, Kim," Billy said. "It's not your fault."

"Yes it is!" she cried. "I bent over! It's my fault that we're all stuck here."

"It could have happened to any of us, Kimberly," Katherine said. "If Billy had landed at my feet like he had yours, I would've bent over to see to him as well."

"Don't be silly, Kim," Rocky said. "We don't blame you."

Kimberly sighed and sat down with a thud beside Scorpina on a long bench. "It's still my fault," she said.

"Kimberly," Katherine said, "being Rangers has put us all in a position of blame before. Remember me, P.C.? I nearly killed you."

"And I gave Goldar the Dragon Dagger once," Billy said.

"Tommy, Katherine, and I didn't get to the Orb of Doom in time," Rocky said.

"It was my bright idea to go scuba diving," Jason said. "And I nearly got us all killed the first time we battled Cyclopsis, and I didn't save Tommy's powers due to the Green Candle."

"Okay," Kimberly sighed. "I get your point. All those stories ended well, this one will too."

Finster emerged from his laboratory with a thoughtful look on his face. "I'm not sure, but I may be able to send you home," Finster said.

"How?" Billy asked as a smile spread across all of their faces.

"It's a fifty fifty chance," he explained. "I've created this device." He held up something that looked like a flip phone. "This device can open a hole in the dimensional wall. I've already programmed it to recognize the five of you. You open it, you all jump through it, and it will close behind you when all five of you are through it. Now, on your first trip, one of two things will happen. Either you'll go home, which I believe to be the case. There is still a lot of residue energy around you. This may be enough to send you home. Or you'll be sent to a random dimension. If that happens, I will have no way to get you back here. I won't be able to contact you. You'll be totally cut off from us. The device will, however, enable you to keep on traveling. It has a minimum recharge time of three hours."

"So if we don't go home, we can keep on trying to get home," Rocky said. "Right?"

"Exactly," Finster said.

"And there's only a fifty-fifty chance we'll get home?" Kimberly asked, horrified.

"Well, it's probably more like eighty-twenty that you'll get home," Finster said. "I think. I mean, this is something I've never attempted before, so I can't be sure, but I'm almost positive. I'd be willing to stake my reputation as a scientist on whether you get home or not."

"But you don't have to take the risk," Jenga said.

"That's right," Scorpina said. "With five Rangers on our team, we could actually defeat the Power Rangers and turn the world back good."

Jenga gave Scorpina a look that was both stern and friendly and said, "We're not asking you to stay. We're just saying if you want to stay, you're welcome here for as long as you like."

"I think I can safely say we'll give it a shot," Jason said.

"Right," Kimberly agreed, to which Billy, Rocky, and Katherine nodded, giving their affirmation.

"I would rather try for the rest of my life to get home, than stay in a world that isn't my home," Katherine said. "Even though you all are very nice, I can't live on a world that is evil."

"We respect your decision," Jenga said. "It's almost lunchtime. We'll fix some food for you, and then after lunch, if you're ready, we can send you home."  
  


* * *

  


Even Rocky didn't have much of an appetite at lunch. They wanted to pretend like they were definitely going home, with no worries, but that wasn't the case. They were scared. To think that they might never get home, it tended to take away one's appetite.

"I wonder what they'll tell our parents?" Kimberly asked.

"You won't have to tell them anything because you're going home soon," Diva said.

"Force some food down," Jenga said, "and we'll go to Earth and send you home."

The five Rangers looked at each other. "We're ready now," Jason answered for them.  
  


* * *

  


Finster gave Billy a quick run-down on the device. "Remember," Finster said, "it takes three hours for this thing to charge up, minimum. Preferably six or more. The longer it charges, the stronger it is. But it doesn't matter, since you're going home."

"Right," Billy said, taking the device from him. "What do you call it, anyhow. I keep thinking of it as the device."

"This reminds me of that t.v. show _Sliders_," Rocky mused. "That would be our timer."

"Well," Billy said, opening the timer up and pushing the single button on it, "let's go sliding." A white beam of light shone from the timer. It traveled about ten feet, where it created a wide, circle of light.

"The wormhole," Jenga said thoughtfully. The wormhole was not just a shining circle. It was a literal hole, emitting light of all colors. The rim of it continually turned in on itself, rolling through many different colors. A slight breeze blew from it, although that effect seemed to be more for show than anything.

"This is it," Billy said. "Home or bust. Who wants to go first?"

"I'll go," Rocky volunteered. He looked at his new friends, waved goodbye, and dove into the wormhole. It briefly flashed blue, and then returned to it's normal rainbow.

"The longer the portal is open, the more of a drain it is on the timer," Finster said.

"Let's go," Katherine said. She and Kimberly ran up to the wormhole and leapt into it, sending a wave of pink light over those present.

Jason looked at Jenga, mouthed a thank you, and then dove into the portal.

Billy put the device in his pocket and gave one last look at his new-found friends. He gave Jenga and Finster a quick hug and said, "Thank you for everything." He ran at the portal and dove it into with his arms extended. The portal flashed blue, and immediately closed.  
  


* * *

  


Billy was hurled from the wormhole, slamming into Kimberly who had finally managed to climb to her feet. "Sorry," Billy muttered.

"It's okay," Kimberly said, standing up and then extending a hand to him.

"Is this home?" Rocky asked.

Billy stood up and looked at their surroundings.

"If this is Angel Grove," Jason said, "I'd hate to see what happened while we were gone."

There was no city. The ground was perfectly level for as far as the eye could see. The only colors were brown and blue. The sky, while it may have looked beautiful, was the only normal thing. Though they weren't in a desert, dirt of varying shades was all that could be seen in any direction.

"We're lost," Katherine said in a voice that carried absolutely no emotion.

"Is this Angel Grove?" Kimberly asked. "Maybe the wormhole just dumped us off at the wrong place."

"Yeah," Jason said, suddenly hopeful. "Didn't you say that the wormhole carried you from Switzerland to Angel Grove?"

"I suppose it's possible," Billy said, "although the reason I was carried to Angel Grove is because Jenga sent us there. She knew she was sending us to Anti-Earth, and she knew that Angel Grove was the most dangerous place on that planet. This timer should keep us on a fairly steady course. We might have a one-hundred mile radius we could fall out in, but that's it. Besides, look at this dirt. Some of it's ash."

"So where are we?" Rocky asked.

Billy knelt down and scooped some of the dirt up in his hands. He ran it through his fingers. "We're not home," Katherine said. "That's for sure."

"My guess is we're on a world where they had a massive nuclear war," Billy said. "With no survivors."

"There's not even a place where we can wait in the shade for three hours to pass," Rocky said.

"I can't believe this is my fault," Kimberly moaned.

"If I have to traipse around various dimensions," Jason said, "I am not going to listen to you blame yourself and moan and groan the whole way."

"I'll be good," Kimberly said with a half-cocked smile.  
  


* * *

  


"Have we been here three hours yet?" Kimberly asked.

"Forty-five minutes," Billy said, prompting moans from Rocky and Kimberly both.

"I hope on the next world we can get something to eat," Rocky said.

"We just ate," Katherine said.

"Yeah, but I was too nervous to eat," Rocky said. "Sort of. Well anyway, I'm hungry again."

"Billy?" Jason asked.

"Yeah?"

"Will we ever get home?" They all looked at their genius friend.

"Sure we will," Billy said. "I can't say how long it will take. But eventually, we'll get home. Here's the way I look at it. First off, there's the remote possibility we'll just randomly slide home. Very rare, but possible. There is another possibility that we will land on a world where sliding is as common as airplane travel back home. If that were to happen, we could get home no problem. Or, we might come across a world identical to our world, or enough so that another Billy, Zordon, and Alpha existed. The four of us could get together and find some way for us to go home."

"That's an awful lot of mights and ifs," Kat said.

"We're gonna be on the road for a long time," Billy said truthfully. "I doubt we'll get home before the summer is over. My hope is by Christmas."

"I just hope the next world has shade trees on it," Jason said.

"It's entirely possible that the next world will be home," Billy said.

"Hey," Katherine said. "I just thought of something. What about our powers? Will they work out here?"

"Yeah, they'll work," Billy said. "We had to morph back on Anti-Earth to fight the Rangers."

"That's not what I mean," Katherine said. "What about me and Jason?"

"Your Turbo powers," Kimberly said. "Oh my gosh."

"I doubt they'll work," Billy said.

Jason twisted his left arm and produced his Turbo morpher. "I've got my morpher and key," he said.

"Just metal right now," Billy said. "They work on our world by accessing the Zeo Crystal which is used the power the Turbo Zords. Since we don't have the Turbo Zords here, you won't morph."

Jason experimentally put the key in his morpher, proving Billy's theory. "But our Ninja Powers will work?" Kimberly asked.

"Yeah," Billy said. "We carry the Power Coin in our private pocket dimension. They aren't linked to home in any way whatsoever. Except for the Morphing Grid, but that's kind of hard to explain."

A sound suddenly filled the air. With several cries of alarm, the five Rangers leapt to their feet. The sound, a low whistle, became louder and louder.

"What is that?" Kimberly cried.

"Where's it coming from?!" Jason shouted. Suddenly, a yellow spike rose up from the ground beneath them.

"Whoa!" Rocky shouted, scrambling for safety.

The ground didn't break open, but simply shifted aside as more and more of the yellow spike rose from it. Four smaller spikes slowly poked through the earth, forming a perfect square around the first spike.

"Should we morph?" Kat asked in a worried tone.

"We don't even know what it is," Billy said. "It might be friendly."

A sheet of yellow metal appeared as the dirt shifted off of it. The four smaller spikes were perched at each corner. "It's a craft of some kind," Billy thought.

He was proven right when, only a few seconds later, it was totally out of the Earth. It was a large yellow box, adorned with spikes at the top. Eight spider legs were its mode of movement. It was obviously a machine of some type, although its actual function was impossible to tell.

"Hello," Billy said to the machine.

"Do you actually expect it to answer?" Kimberly asked.

"It might be sentient," Billy said. "Do you have a better idea?"

Suddenly, one side of it swung open. The five Rangers fell back in a defensive pattern. Four beings, clad in all body yellow armor, stepped out of the box.

"Who are you?" one of them asked, although since their entire faces were covered and none of them moved, it was impossible to tell which one actually said it.

"My name is Billy Cranston," Billy said. "These are my friends, Jason Scott, Kimberly Hart, Katherine Hillard, and Rocky DeSantos."

A murmur of surprise passed through the four strange beings. "What are they doing?" Katherine asked, although she didn't expect an answer.

"Please come with us," one of them said.

"Why?" Billy asked sternly.

"Attack mode," one of them said. The four yellow beings suddenly had various weapons in their hands.

"It's Morphin Time!" Jason shouted frantically.

"PTERODACTYL!!!"

"TRICERATOPS!!!"

"TYRANNOSAURUS!!!"

"ZEO RANGER I, PINK --- BUTTERFLY!!!"

"ZEO RANGER III, BLUE --- APE!!!"

"Power Rangers," one of the four beings said. All four immediately dropped to the ground and covered their heads with their hands.

"Hmm," Kat said. "That's odd."

A yellow cloud suddenly burst from their spider-like machine. Before any of the Rangers could comprehend what it was, it had surrounded them. Without a single word of protest, the five Rangers fell to the ground, fast asleep.  
  


* * *

  


"Rise and shine, gorgeous," a very familiar voice said.

"Unnngh," Kimberly moaned. "What happened?"

"Shhh," the voice said. "Don't worry about that now. Just relax."

Kimberly forced her eyes opened and looked about her. She lay on a yellow bed in a room with yellow walls. A yellow gauze-like material hung from the ceiling in wide strips. "I de-morphed," Kimberly whispered in horror.

"I did that." Kimberly looked at the voice's source and saw Adam, clothed entirely in yellow. His hair was shorned incredibly short, nearly in a buzzcut.

"Where am I?" Kimberly asked. "Where are my friends?"

"They're in their own rooms," Adam said, "being tended to. We thought you were dead."

"I want to see the others," Kimberly said, scooting off of the bed.

"You can't right now," Adam said.

"No, I want to see the others," she said firmly. "Tell me where they are!"

"I just told you, YOU CAN'T RIGHT NOW!!!" Adam bellowed. "The Queens said that you are mine for the next half-hour."

"The Queens?" Kimberly asked. "And if you even try to lay a hand on me..."

"You'll do nothing," Adam said. "I have been loyal, you are my reward." With an angry scowl, he began to unbutton his shirt. "You can either undress yourself or I'll do it for you."

Kimberly laughed and put her hands on her hips. "I think I'll chose option C," she said. "I keep my clothes on and kick your sorry butt all over this room."

Adam gave her a mean smile and yanked his shirt tail out of his pants. "I'm sure little old gymnast Kimberly can actually beat me up," Adam said sarcastically. "I'm really concerned." He discarded his shirt and began to unbutton his pants. "Now why don't you just hop up on the bed like the good little Ranger you are?"

Kimberly backed against one of the yellow walls. She was starting to get concerned. "Just find a door," she ordered herself.

With an angry glare, Adam strode across the room to her and grabbed her by the shoulders. "You listen to me and you listen to me good," he growled in a very quiet voice. "You are mine, for the next thirty minutes. If I tell you to act like a dog, you're gonna act like a dog. And right now, I'm telling you to undress and get on that bed."

Kimberly quickly jerked her knee up in one solid move. With a cry of pain, Adam staggered away from her, both hands clamped over his groin. "LET ME GO!!!" Kimberly cried.

"I'm gonna hurt you for that," Adam muttered, his voice quivering.

With a primal scream, Kimberly kicked Adam in the chest. He hit the ground with a moan, giving Kimberly time to run away. She ran along the walls, searching for a door. "There has to be a way out of here," she said. Thinking briefly that she could teleport out, she reached for her communicator to find that it was broken.

Adam suddenly slammed into her body, pressing her flat against the wall. Kimberly screamed in both shock and fear. "No!"

"If you had cooperated, this could have been fun for the both of us," Adam growled.

"NO!!!" Kimberly screamed again as Adam carried her away from the wall with both of his arms wrapped around her.  
  


* * *

  


As Jason slowly came to, he realized that something was in his mouth. He attempted to spit it out, when he realized that it was a gag. "Ah, he's awake," a strange voice said. Jason couldn't see, he couldn't talk, and he was tied to what felt like a chair.

"I suppose you're wondering what you're doing here," the voice said. It sounded so familiar, yet so odd at the same time. A rough hand was suddenly at his face, removing the gag.

"What do you want?" Jason said, his voice weak due to extreme thirst.

"I want your opportunity," the voice said. "I don't know who you are or how you became a top-dweller, but I want whoever they send for you."

"What are you talking about?" Jason asked, struggling against the ropes that bound him.

"I'm a dissenter. I was angry when we moved under, and I attempted to overthrow the Queens. Big mistake. They had me killed, but I escaped. Fortunately for me, my assassin told the Queens that I was dead for fear of his own death. I've spent the past six months on the run, escaping death on a nearly daily basis. Today, you show up. And guess what I learn. The Queens are sorry they had me killed, and plan to offer you a spot on the Throne. Well, my dear little doppelganger, I want your opportunity." With that, Jason's blindfold was ripped off. He saw a version of himself before him. The other Jason was much paler and had a heavy growth of beard, but was unmistakably him.

"Turns out the Queens want all of the Power Rangers on the throne," the other Jason said. "Because you look like me, they think you are a Ranger. Well get this, I want your spot. I don't know who they are sending for you to impregnate, but I intend to be the one. Not you, me."

"Impregnate?" Jason asked. "What are you talking about?"

"To get on the throne, you have to impregnate an existing Throne member," Jason said. "Of if you are a woman, they give you a shot to make you come in heat, and then a male member of the Throne has sex with her. Very simple. So, I intend to take your place. Got it?"

"What are you gonna do with me?" Jason asked.

"That's the hard part," Jason said. "I guess I'll just hide you in here until I'm an official member of the Throne, and then I'll have you taken care of. Now, if you'll forgive me, I'm afraid I have to gag and blind you again."  
  


* * *

  


Rocky was thrown forward, landing at someone's feet. "What a way to wake up," he complained.

"Who are you and why do you pretend to be me?" a very hostile voice asked.

"Excuse me?" Rocky asked.

"You claim to be Rocky DeSantos," the voice said. Two men were suddenly on each side of Rocky and lifted him to his feet. Rocky found himself staring into the face of his exact double, only clothed entirely in yellow.

"You're me," Rocky said in awe. The other Rocky immediately punched Rocky in the face, bloodying his nose.

"Have him exterminated!" yellow Rocky shouted.  
  


* * *

  


The man dropped to one knee and bowed, forcing his near-unconscious prisoner, cloaked in a yellow hood, to bow as well.

"You may rise," the Queens said in perfect unison.

"I have something that may please you," the man said. He pulled the yellow hood off of his prisoner, revealing the drugged human known as Billy Cranston.

"I thought he was dead," the right Queen said. With a happy laugh, she said, "Prepare my quarters, and notify the Medical Lab. My time has come."  
  


* * *

  


"Ow!" Katherine cried, sitting straight up.

"Well that wasn't supposed to happen," a woman in a yellow lab coat said as she pulled the needle from Katherine's arm.

"What did you do that for?!" Kat demanded.

"Not your concern, dear," came the answer. "I didn't expect you to wake up. I hope you aren't allergic. Do you have any known allergies?"

"Eggs," Katherine stammered. "Would you please tell me what is going on?"

"Eggs, huh?" the woman said. "This shouldn't effect the serum. I guess you just weren't very heavily sedated. Oh well. The medicine will take effect soon. I'll go ahead and send him in."

"Send who in?" Kat asked. "Please tell me what is going on."

"We'll tell you everything later," the woman said. "Now you're too tense, dear. Just relax."

The woman pulled a yellow remote control out of her pocket and pointed it at the wall. A section of the wall opened, which she left through. Rocky, clad entirely in yellow, walked in.

"Rocky!" Katherine cried.

"Kat!" Rocky cried back. "You remember me!"

She instantly realized something was wrong, and the smile slowly left her face. "So, are you ready?" Rocky asked. "Have you done this before?"

"Done what?" she asked cautiously.

"I'll take it that means no," Rocky said as he started to take off his yellow t-shirt. "Don't worry. It's fun. Just relax and I'll do all of the work. Now loosen up and take your shirt off."

Katherine's eyebrows shot up in an arch. "Say what?"

"You can keep your shirt on if you want, I guess," Rocky said, "but you'll have more fun if you take it off."

"You know what," Katherine said, getting off of the yellow bed. "I think I'll just say no."

The smile suddenly dropped off of Rocky's face. "You're acting like you had a choice," Rocky said. "Man! I hate it when you all don't go along with it! It makes it a whole lot harder on me!"

"As if I care about you or your feelings," Katherine said.

Rocky suddenly grabbed her forearm and jerked her to him. "You want it rough, you'll get it rough," he said.

Katherine immediately punched him in the chest with her free hand. She yanked her free hand from his grasp and kicked him in the groin. He gave a painful scream, but she quickly turned around and high-kicked him, square in the jaw. Rocky fell to the ground, holding himself and trembling. "By the way," Katherine said. "I'm a kickboxer, if you didn't know." She looked down at him and saw a slight bulge in his left pocket. She reached into his pocket and pulled out a yellow remote. "I'll be leaving now."

She pointed it at the same wall the woman had before, pressed the button on it, and left in a hurry when the wall slid open.  
  


* * *

  


"Please Adam," Kimberly begged as he pinned her to the bed. He straddled her legs and held her arms down with his. He let go of her to raise up and unzip his pants.

Kimberly saw this as her only chance of escape. She hit him in the groin with one hand and attempted to claw his chest with the other. He gave a horrific scream as her fingernails pierced his tender, pale skin. A fair amount of blood ran over her fingers, but she ignored it and punched him directly in the mouth as hard as she could. She was temporarily sickened by the horrible cracking sound, but when she thought what he was about to do to her, she hit him again.

He rolled off of the bed, hitting the floor in a painful, bloody heap. "My tooth," he spat, coughing up a fair amount of blood.

Kimberly rolled off of the bed and shouted, "It's Morphin Time! PTERODACTYL!!!" She pulled her Power Blaster out, and fired at the wall. Much to her pleasure, it melted away as it was not built of a sturdy material. She jumped out of the hole in the wall and ran away.  
  


* * *

  


Katherine backed up against the wall in horror. She had managed to escape the room, only to find herself presented with dozens of hallways. She chose one that led to the left, wondering where it might lead and if she would ever find her friends.  
  


* * *

  


Billy murmured in appreciation as his senses slowly returned to him. He felt a very soft hand stroking the side of his face gently. "What's ... where am I?"

"Shhhh," the voice said soothingly.

"Trini?" Billy asked.

"Oh good," Trini said. "You remember me."

"What's happened?" Billy asked, still groggy.

"We thought you were dead," Trini said. "I guess you're wondering how all of this came about." Billy grunted in reply. "After the war, well, you, Kat, and Kim were missing. We thought you had been killed. Tanya and I started the rebellion. With Zordon's help, we created this underground world. Laws are just here. Tanya and I rule here. People call us the Queens. We've got several people on the thrones, including all of the Rangers except you, Katherine, Kimberly, and Jason. We also thought Jason was dead, because we had him killed. We realized that was a very bad thing, because Jason was such a powerful fighter. But he was alive and with you. Billy, do you know what's going to happen now?"

"Say what?" Billy asked, rubbing his temples. "Did I just hear right?"

"We're going to have a child, Billy," Trini said. "You'll be my husband, and we will rule together. Are you coherent enough to make love yet?"

"I'm not your Billy," Billy said. "I'm from a different dimension. Me and my four friends came here by mistake."

"You aren't our Rangers?" Trini asked, getting off of the bed. Trini clapped her hands and shouted, "GUARDS!!!" Before Billy could react, two men in yellow armor had him in their grasp.  
  


* * *

  


Jason leaned his head against the wall. "I can't believe Emily is on the Throne," Jason said. He pondered his words for a moment and chuckled silently. He reminded himself that the woman currently creating such a ruckus with his doppelganger was not his Emily. It was a completely different woman from a completely different dimension.

After some time, the two were silent. He heard movement, the rustling of clothes, and then Jason said, "I'll address the Queens later. I have something I must take care of first." Emily said nothing in reply as she left the room.

Jason suddenly felt the gag get yanked from his mouth. The blindfold was roughly removed, and he found himself staring into his double's sweaty face. "What'd you think of that show?" he asked. "I would have let you watch, but a man's gotta have his privacy."

"You're sick, you know that?" Jason spat.

"Yeah, well, I'm a member of the Throne now," the other Jason said. "And as such, I'm exempt from the international laws. My first duty is to kill you."  
  


* * *

  


"Billy!" Rocky cried happily. "You're not dead!" A cloud of yellow dust rose up around Billy as the guards threw him into a large room, the floor of which was covered with a thick yellow dust.

"Not yet," Billy said as the doors slammed shut.

"You know what we're in here for, right?"

"Yep, they're gonna kill us," Billy said.

"Maybe the others will be thrown in here, too," Rocky said, "and we can just slide out."

"We haven't even been here three hours," Billy said. "According to my watch, we still have another hour to go. Besides, we should probably try and get above ground."

The door rumbled open, and Jason was thrown in, still tied and gagged. "Jason!" Billy shouted. He and Rocky hurried over to him and quickly untied him.

"Man, this has been a weird day," Jason said.  
  


* * *

  


Katherine pressed herself tight against the wall. Of all places to stumble into, she had chosen the Throne Room. Trini and Tanya sat on two large thrones, dressed in extravagant yellow robes. Many people circled around the room, catering to the two women's every need. Kat was sure she stuck out like a sore thumb in her pink shirt, but she managed to find a dark spot to hide in. If they saw her, no one was doing anything about it.

The door beside her blasted open. Kat jumped in alarm but kept from making any sound. Tommy and Adam carried a fighting Kimberly into the room.

"Ah Miss Kimberly," Tanya said. "So nice to see you again. We thought you had died."

"Not our Kimberly," Adam said. "Our Kimberly probably is dead. I don't know who this chick is, but she sure isn't ours. She wouldn't let me impregnate her."

The servants in the Throne Room gasped in horror. "He tried to rape me!" Kimberly screamed.

"That's because you didn't cooperate," Trini said. "Well, I have no use for those who are disloyal. Have her done away with. Throw her in Excalibur with the other three."

"The other three," Katherine thought happily. She started to move out of the shadows as Tommy and Adam turned to drag Kimberly out of the room. Kimberly saw her through the darkness.

"Don't morph," Kimberly mouthed silently as the two men drug her from the room.

* * *

* * *

  


* * *

"Kim," Billy said as the Pink Ranger was thrown into the room.

"Billy," she said happily. She jumped to her feet, ran over to him, and literally threw herself into his arms. "What is this place?"

"We think we have it figured out," Jason said.

"Trini and Tanya are like the rulers of the world," Rocky said.

"The Queens," Kimberly said. "That's what people here call them. That would explain why everything is yellow."

"They are the rulers of it all, but there's a lower council called the Throne," Billy said. "All of the Rangers are on the throne, except for Jason, Kimberly, Billy, and Katherine. Our doubles were killed in the great war that caused everyone to move underground."

"My double revolted, and they tried to have him killed," Jason said. "But he escaped, and Trini and Tanya realized the mistake they made. They want him on the Throne. When I came, they thought he was me. But, somehow we still haven't figured out, he kidnapped me, pretended to be me, and took my place to get on the Throne."

"How do you get on the Throne?" Kimberly asked.

"If you are a man, you have to impregnate a female member of the Throne," Billy said. "If you are a woman, they give you a shot to make you ovulate, and then a male member of the Throne will impregnate you. That's how the Throne grows."

"That's why Adam tried to rape me," Kimberly mused.

"Jason and a double of Emily had sex just a while back," Jason said. "I was tied up, gagged, and blind-folded in the corner. Emily must be a member of the Throne, because Jason has authority now. That's how I got thrown in here."

"Evil Rocky thinks I'm trying to take his place or something," Rocky said. "That's how I got my bloody nose."

"Trini was going to have my baby," Billy said with a sarcastic smirk. "I told her my story, thinking she might help us. Instead, she plans to have me killed. This is a very strange world."

"Everything I have seen so far is yellow," Rocky said. "I wonder if Aisha has anything to do with this."  
  


* * *

  


Katherine felt a hand clamp over her mouth. With a muffled cry, she was yanked back into the wall. "Shhhhh," a voice whispered in her ear. A small door opened behind her, and she was pulled through it. It closed before anyone in the Throne Room noticed she was gone. Darkness surrounded her, but she could still feel the hand over her mouth.

"Don't say anything. Just give me a second to get us out of here." The hand left her mouth and took her hand. She was guided down the dark hallway but didn't resist because she had no better idea.

They rounded a corner and suddenly stepped into an area of slight illumination. It was then that she saw who the person was. "Aisha," Katherine whispered.

"Don't say my name," Aisha said. "They want me killed."

"You're not with them?" Katherine asked.

"I'm the only Ranger that's not with them," Aisha said. "Girl, I sure thought you were dead."

"I'm not from this world," Kat said. "I came here by accident."

"Did you come with four others?"

"Yes," Kat said happily. "Billy, Rocky, Jason, and Kimberly."

"You came here by accident," Aisha said. "Do you have a way to get home?"

"No," Katherine said. She realized what she was about to say put more trust on this virtual stranger than she should have, but she didn't know what else to do. "Billy has a device that will let us leave this dimension though."

"Yes," Aisha said happily. "Your four friends are about to be fed to the Lokharai. I can get to them, but I need you to cover me."

"I can morph," Kat said.

"No!" Aisha cried, then clamped her hands over her mouth. "Don't morph," she whispered. "If you morph, they can track you."

"Well what do you want me to do?" Kat asked.

Aisha crept a bit further down the hallway, and then waved Kat to follow her. Aisha pulled a yellow remote from the wall and pointed it at the wall. A small door opened, barely large enough for a human to squeeze through. "It's pitch black on the other side. It's just a little bitty closet, but it has a ladder that leads up about forty feet. Climb that ladder, and at the top there is a hallway. That hallway has an observation window that looks over the Lokharai pit. Get up there, break the window, and jump down to your friends."

"Jump forty feet?" Kat asked.

"No, you'll only need to jump about twenty," Aisha said. "We're already underground. The floor isn't level. Anyway, I'll be coming up through the dirt there in just a few minutes in a SpideRover. Now go." Aisha quickly disappeared into the darkness.

Katherine turned to look at the tiny door. She squeezed through it, and it promptly slammed shut behind her. She could feel a wall both to the right and left of her, barely giving her room to stand in. Her hands reached forward, and she found the ladder. Placing her foot on the first metal rung, she began to climb up.

While she had managed to overcome her fear of diving, she still had a horrible fear of heights. She wasn't real fond of the dark, either. However, her friends needed her, and that thought helped push her up the ladder.

After what seemed an eternity, she reached the last rung of the ladder. She scurried off of the ladder and slowly crept down the narrow hallway. The darkness wasn't quite as dark, for a wide window was just a few feet ahead of her. The closer she got to it, the more light she could see. By the time she reached the windows, the darkness was gone.

"They're okay!" Katherine cried happily. They were in a large room with yellow walls whose floor was yellow dirt. "You guys!!!" She beat her hands against the glass, trying to get their attention. They sat with their back to her, and obviously couldn't hear her.

A slight bulge rose up out of the ground behind the Rangers. "Hey," Katherine said. The bulge slowly sank back down into the ground. "What was that?" She slammed both hands into the glass. "YOU GUYS!!!"

Suddenly, a long black snake-like extension rose up from the yellow sand. "They don't see it!!!" Kat yelled. The snake-like appendage moved through the sand like a submarine's periscope from the water, coming up directly behind Jason. "JASON!!!!!" She braced herself against the back wall and tried to kick the glass out with her right foot. The glass didn't even budge. "I don't care if they find me or not," Kat said. "ZEO RANGER I, PINK --- BUTTERFLY!!!" In a pink flash, she morphed into her shiny pink armor.

She drew her arm back and punched through the glass. It shattered immediately, raining down into the room and catching the attention of her friends. Kat dove through the open window head first, flipping once in mid-air and landing neatly on her feet. The black appendage sank into the sand immediately.

"Kat!" Kimberly cried. "They can track you now!"

"It doesn't matter," she said. "They're going to feed you guys to some monster!"

"What?" Rocky asked.

"Lokharai," Kat said. "That's what this room is. It's the Lokharai pit. It apparently comes up from beneath the sand to eat you."

Suddenly, a black appendage rose up from beneath the ground and wrapped around Rocky's legs. "Rocky!" Kat cried. Before he could say anything, he was pulled underground.

"PTERODACTYL!!!"

"TRICERATOPS!!!"

"TYRANNOSAURUS!!!"

Kat had her blade blaster out and was firing it randomly at the ground.

"POWER SWORD!!!" Jason bellowed. He ran over to where Rocky had been pulled under and stabbed the Sword deep into the ground near it. A horrible bellow sounded from beneath the sand. A literal explosion occurred in the corner, sending up a huge cloud of dust. Rocky flew from the new hole in the ground.

Kimberly ran over to Rocky, covered in yellow dust, and helped him to his feet. "Hurry up and morph," Kimberly said.

Rocky nodded and muttered, "Zeo Ranger III, Blue --- Ape." A split second later when he was fully morphed, he took a deep breath and climbed to his feet. "That's much better."

The Lokharai suddenly leapt from the sand. The beast filled the back half of the room. It had the general body shape of a scorpion, although it had a much larger mouth directly on the front of it, complete with several black appendages that twisted and contorted around its head. It opened its mouth, revealing rows upon rows of twisted, bloody teeth, and gave a horrible screaming bellow.

Suddenly, a yellow spike rose up from the center of the floor. "It's Aisha!" Kat cried hopefully.

The Lokharai screamed in terror and quickly buried itself in the sand. "Aisha?" Kimberly asked.

"Yeah," Kat said. "I hope." A few seconds later, and the SpideRover had unearthed itself. One wall of it opened, showing Aisha at the controls.

"Get in you guys!" Aisha cried.

"Can we trust her?" Jason asked.

"Do you have a better idea?" Aisha asked.

The five Rangers hurried into the yellow box-like vehicle. The wall closed behind them, and Aisha directed the SpideRover back into the ground. After about five silent minutes of travel, the SpideRover emerged above ground.

"We should be safe for a while," Aisha said. "It'll take them at least forty-five minutes to track us above ground."

"We have about half an hour before we can slide," Billy said.

"What are you going to do?" Katherine asked Aisha.

"I was planning on coming with you," she answered. "I sure can't go back. The Queens will have me killed for sure.

"You can come," Billy said. "But for now, since we have a half hour wait, why don't you tell us how all of this came to be."

"I was kind of wondering that myself," Kimberly said.

Aisha sat back and began to tell the story.  
  


* * *

  


A year ago, Zedd and Rita launched such a massive war on the planet that ninety-five percent of the population was killed. The Power Rangers actually managed to defeat them, although the planet was so spoiled it was no longer suitable to live on. Zordon created an underground world, and the five percent of the population prepared to move into this new home.

Trini and Tanya banded together and decided to take over. They killed Zordon, much in the same manner as Ivan Ooze had almost succeeded. They convinced Jason, Tommy, Adam, Rocky, and Zack to join with them. Aisha, Billy, Katherine, and Kimberly, however, tried to revolt, but they were killed with the sole exception of Aisha who befriended the Queens in the hopes of someday starting a new revolution from the inside. Six months later, Jason also tried to revolt, but he wanted to rule for himself. He was supposed to be assassinated, but he overcame his killer and escaped, living on the run in the underground world.

Trini and Tanya have since been known as the Queens. They have many, many people on their side, and nearly thirty on the Throne.

The Lokharai was discovered about three months ago. It was a remnant of one of Zedd's monsters, and has since been living underground. The Lokharai is now the Queens preferred method of execution, as it is no trouble and leaves no remains behind.  
  


* * *

  


"No one questions their authority?" Kimberly asked.

"Everyone knows better than to try," Aisha said. "They have the only army in existence right now. I don't know what happened to them. Trini and Tanya used to be the two nicest girls I knew. Now, they're dictators."

"We can leave now," Billy said, looking at his watch. "Maybe the next world will be friendlier and we can let the timer charge up longer."

"Let's beat feet," Aisha said. She opened the SpideRover, and the six teens got out.

"Here goes nothin'," Billy said. He pointed the timer at the ground and pressed the button. The wormhole appeared on the ground, flashing colors and sending a breeze past the Rangers.

"Oh, wait a minute." She ran back to the SpideRover, slung a yellow knapsack over her shoulder, and ran back to the wormhole. "Do we just jump in?" Aisha asked.

Rocky walked up to the portal. "Yep," he said, jumping into the portal feet first.

"Come on," Kimberly said. She took Aisha's hand and the two girls leapt into the portal. Jason was close behind.

"Ladies first," Billy said, motioning at the portal. He put the timer in his pocket and followed Kat to the glimmering wormhole. They took one last look at the barren landscape around them, and jumped in.  
  


* * *

  


Billy hit the ground and rolled into a somersault. "We gotta find some way to make that easier," Rocky said. He gave Billy a hand to his feet.

"This world looks nice," Katherine said. They were sitting in what may have been Angel Grove park.

"What a ride," Aisha laughed. The realization of the new world hit her. "I'm free. I escaped. Oh thank you! Thank you so much!!!"

"Glad we could help," Billy said.

"This world looks beautiful," Kimberly said.

"Let's go find some people," Jason said. "I want to make sure this isn't some freak-show world before we get too comfortable."

"That sounds like a good idea," Billy said.  
  


* * *

  


"I don't think this is Angel Grove," Kimberly said.

"It's too small," Katherine said. "This is a little town."

"There aren't any people," Aisha observed. "It's middle of the afternoon. There should be people on the sidewalks."

"Let's find a small little store and get a phone book or something," Jason said. "Find out where we are."

"Oh wait, look," Rocky said. "There are three kids."

Three kids, a black boy, and two blonde kids, a boy and a girl, were sitting on the steps of a closed shop. They appeared to be engrossed in an intense conversation and didn't even notice the six teens approaching them.

"Hi," Kimberly said as she approached them.

The three kids yelled and jumped to their feet. Kimberly shouted as well and dropped into a defensive stance.

"What are you doing here?!" the blonde boy demanded.

"Where is everyone?" Aisha asked.

"There's a monster scare," the black kid answered. "Everybody's in the Charterville Shelter."

"Charterville?" Rocky asked. "Never heard of it."

"This is a different dimension," Billy whispered. "Apparently Angel Grove doesn't exist here."

"You all should be in the Shelter," the blonde girl said.

"Shouldn't you?" Kat asked.

"We forgot?" the girl tried.

Suddenly, three balls of fire streaked through the air. "Oh no!" the three kids cried.

"Drew! Roland!" the blonde girl cried. "What are we gonna do?!"

"Why don't you all let the Power Rangers handle this," Aisha said. "Come on, let's go to that Monster Shelter."

"Power Rangers?" all three asked in unison.

"You don't have Power Rangers?" Rocky asked. "Who is supposed to fight the monsters?"

"The Beetleborgs," the girl answered.

"Billy?" Kimberly asked. "What's a Beetleborg?"

"I have no idea," he answered.

"The Magnavores!" the girl shouted.

"Little Jo," one of the red beings, obviously female, said when she materialized from the ball of fire. "Missing something?"

"Give us back our powers!" Jo cried. She didn't care if these six teenagers knew they were BeetleBorgs or not. Without their powers, the world wouldn't survive anyhow.

"Can't," the green monster growled. "We had them destroyed." He tossed three black and silver boxes at the kid's feet.

"No!" the girl cried. She dove at the broken boxes, breaking into tears.

"The world is ours!!!" the white monster laughed.

"I don't think so," Jason said. "Guys?"

"We're with ya," Kimberly said.

"It's Morphin Time!" Jason shouted.

"PTERODACTYL!!!"

"TRICERATOPS!!!"

"TYRANNOSAURUS!!!"

"ZEO RANGER I, PINK --- BUTTERFLY!!!"

"ZEO RANGER III, BLUE --- APE!!!"

"What the?" the three monsters said in unison. The Power Rangers immediately jumped into battle.

"What's going on?" Roland asked, confused.

"Come on," Aisha said, taking Jo by the hand. "Let's find some place to hide and I'll explain it all to you."  
  


* * *

  


"And they managed to steal our Beetle Bonders," Drew said.

"And destroyed them," Roland said sorrowfully.

"You say a ghost gave you your powers?" Aisha asked skeptically.

"Flabber," Jo said.

"This sounds like something from a kids show," Aisha said.

"Here come the Forest Rangers," Drew said, pointing up the alley at the five teens running toward them.

"Power Rangers," Aisha reminded them.

"The Omnivores retreated," Billy said.

"Magnavores," Roland corrected.

"We should take these guys to see Flabber," Jo said.

"Who-ber?" Kat asked.

"Flabber," Jo said.

"I'll go anywhere to get some answers to my questions," Billy said.

"Follow us," Drew told them.  
  


* * *

  


"Decrepit looking place," Billy said.

"Hillherst Mansion," Jo said. "This is where Flabber ... and some friends live."

"Are they ghosts too?" Rocky asked.

"Sort of," Drew said. "Come on."

Katherine opened the door and cautiously walked into the darkened house. "Hello?"

A growl suddenly came from right in front of her and a dog-like creature leapt at her. With a scream, she kicked it in the chest. "It's a Wulf Warrior!" Katherine cried. A confused grunt came from her right. She turned her head slightly to find herself staring into Frankenstein's face. With a scream, she pushed it aside and ran further into the house.

"Kat!" Rocky shouted, running into the house behind her.

"Oh no!" Jo and Roland shouted, running into the house after them.

"What's going on?" Billy asked.

"Kat just met the House Monsters," Drew said, running into the house after them.

"I wonder if we'll ever find a normal world," Jason complained, running into the house as well.

"We should probably go in there, too, huh?" Kimberly asked.

"Yep," Billy said. "Ladies first."

"Thanks," Kimberly said, walking slowly into the house.  
  


* * *

  


Kimberly and Rocky climbed on top of an old Pipe Organ, screaming at the top of their lungs.

"Flabber!" Jo cried.

"We've got guests!" Roland shouted.

A blue ghost suddenly popped out of thin air. "Jay Leno?" Rocky asked.

"I think it's Elvis," Kat said.

Flabber growled and shouted, "EVERYBODY QUIET!!! Now Frankie, Wolfgang, Mums, and Count. You are not allowed to eat Jo, Roland, and Drew's friends."

"Aw, but we're real hungry," the mummy whined.

"Ah duh buh we duh yeah," the Frankstein beast stammered.

"Now I fed you just a little while ago," Flabber said. "Shoo. Get outta here."

"Aw man, you're no fun," Count said as the four monsters left the room with their heads hanging.

"Now," Flabber said, rubbing his hands together. "Do you mind introducing me to your friends?"

"Yeah," Jo said. "These are the Power Rangers, Katherine, Kimberly, Billy, Rocky, and Jason. And this is Aisha."

"Hi," the six teens said in unison.

"What's a Power Ranger?" Flabber asked.

"We're superheroes," Billy said, "but we're not from this dimension. We're kind of lost."

"Oh my," Flabber said. "Lost in a different dimensions. That's a real bummer."

"We fought the Magnavores after they destroyed their powers," Rocky said.

"Oh, I, ulp!" Flabber cried. "Your powers have been destroyed?"

"Jara destroyed them!" Jo cried. "Can you make us some new Beetle Bonders?"

"I sure can't," Flabber said. "Oh no! What are we going to do?!"

"Well, we have Power Rangers now," Drew said.

"We can't stay," Jason said. "We have to get to our world."

"Can you send us home?" Kimberly asked.

"Afraid not," Flabber said. "I can put you in a comic book!"

"We'll pass," Rocky said.

"Can't say as I blame ya," Flabber said. A chair suddenly materialized beneath him. He sat in it and propped his chin on his elbow. "Hmmm. We have to find a way to get new powers or this world is doomed."

Aisha looked at the knapsack still slung over her shoulder. "I have an idea," she said.  
  


* * *

  


"Hi Nano," Jo, Drew, and Roland said in perfect unison.

"Hey kids," Nano said. The not-quite-elderly-but-not-young black woman who was surprisingly strong and athletic did a double-take as the three kids came into the store with six teenagers in tow. "Who are your friends?"

"Just some new guys in town," Roland answered.

Jason hurried up to the black woman. "My name is Jason," he said.

"Hello Jason," Nano said. "Everybody calls me Nano."

"Roland tells me you're a bit of a martial artist," Jason said.

"Fourth level black belt in American style Karate," Nano answered, not skipping a beat, "among others."

"Me too," Jason said. "Would you like to meet up someplace this afternoon and spar a little?"

"If you think you can handle me," Nano said.  
  


* * *

  


"Aisha," Flabber said, "when are you going to explain your plan?"

"Well, I'll tell you, but you have to promise me one thing first," she said.

"What's what?" Flabber asked.

"You let me stay in your dimension," Aisha said.

"Well of course!" Flabber shouted. "We'd love to have you here!"

"Good," Aisha said with a smile. "Now I'll tell you my plan. But keep it quiet until the kids come back."  
  


* * *

  


"She's good," Jason said. He wiped the sweat from his brow and watched as Rocky tried to hold his own against Nano.

"I wish Aisha would tell us what she's got planned," Katherine said.

"How long are we going to stay here?" Kimberly asked.

"Well, it's a pretty safe world," Billy said. "I say we stay until at least late tonight."

"That sounds good," Jason said. "That'll give us a chance to get rested up."  
  


* * *

  


"Come on in," Aisha said, opening the door. Jo, Drew, Roland, Nano, and the five Rangers were standing on the porch.

"This is unreal," Nano said.

"Flabber, you can come out!" Roland cried.

"We told Nano everything!"

Flabber suddenly materialized directly in front of Nano. The two stared at each other intently for a few minutes. "You scared of me?" Flabber asked.

"Nope," Nano said. "You scared of me?"

"A little," Flabber admitted.

"Come on you two," Aisha said.

"So what is the plan?" Jo said.

"Well, back on my world, the Rangers aren't needed anymore because Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa were defeated," Aisha said. "That's why I took this." She opened her knap sack and removed a large, glowing shard.

"The Zeo Crystal," the five Rangers said in unison.

"I still don't see what this has to do with me," Nano said.

"Well," Aisha said, "I've decided to stay here because I don't have anywhere else to go. Me, you three BeetleBorgs, and Nano are going to become Power Rangers Zeo."

"Say what?" Nano asked.

"Cool!" Roland shouted.

"You'll do it, won't you?" Aisha asked. "We need five Rangers."

"I guess," Nano said.

"You've got the fighting skills for it," Jason said.

"Just tell me what to do," Nano said.

"Flabber, work your magic," Aisha said, tossing him the Zeo crystal.

He pointed his hands at it dramatically. Blue light flowed from his fingertips and struck the crystal. It immediately separated into five shards. "Do you know how you're going to divide these things up?" Flabber asked.

"As a matter of fact, I do," Aisha said. She took the five Crystals from Flabber. "Jo, you will command the Power of the Oval. From this day forward, you will be known as Zeo Ranger I, Pink." She handed Jo the shard. Pink light raced up and down Jo's arms for a brief moment before the Crystal disappeared.

"Nano, you will command the Power of Balance. You are now Zeo Ranger II, Yellow.

"Drew, you are given the Power of the Triangle. You are Zeo Ranger III, Blue.

"Roland, the Power of the Square is yours. You are Zeo Ranger IV, Green.

"And I will take on the Power of the Star," Aisha said. The Crystal shard disappeared in a red flash. "Zeo Ranger V, Red. If that's okay with everyone else."

"I think you'll look good in red," Roland said.

"How do we borg?" Jo asked.

"We don't borg," Aisha said. "We morph. And I brought some Zeonizers as well." She removed them from her knap sack and handed them out.

"Morphing is a very bizarre experience," Jason said. "You'll find that you know everything about your new powers without even having to be told."

"Like our old powers," Drew said.

"Uhm, you guys?" Count asked, slowly creeping down the stairs. "There are some Magnavores in front of the house."

"Let's do it, guys," Aisha said. "It's Morphin Time!"

"ZEO RANGER I, PINK!!!" Jo cried.

"ZEO RANGER II, YELLOW!!!" Nano shouted.

"ZEO RANGER III, BLUE!!!" Drew bellowed.

"ZEO RANGER IV, GREEN!!!" Roland yelled.

"ZEO RANGER V, RED!!!" Aisha cried.

Jo, Drew, and Roland immediately grew to what would one day be their adult bodies. "Whoa mama!" Roland cried. "Check out Jo!"

"Oh man!" Jo shouted, looking down at her body.

"Come on you guys," Aisha said. The five Zeo Rangers ran out of the house.

"Looks like we came to this dimension just in time," Billy said.

"I guess this means Aisha is planning on staying," Kimberly thought out loud.

"Can you blame her?" Kat asked. "We're strangers. And she has something to fight for here."

"Let's wait until they get back from their fight," Billy said. "Then we'll leave."

"Where will we sleep?" Kimberly asked.

"Does anybody have any money?" Billy asked. "Maybe we'll come to a world where they use the same currency as we do."

"I have five bucks," Jason said.

"I'm broke," Rocky said.

"Me too," Kimberly said.

"My purse is still in the Command Center," Katherine said.

"I have twenty bucks," Billy said. "Twenty-five bucks might buy us night at a cheap, seedy motel."

"We'll have to eat, eventually," Jason reminded them. "We haven't eaten in about nine hours."

"Couldn't we morph and just find a quiet safe place to sleep?" Kat asked.

"It wouldn't work," Billy said. "We'd sleep well enough, but as soon as we de-morphed, we'd be just as tired as if we hadn't slept. I'd say we'll be doing a lot of sleeping in parks."

"Great," Kimberly said. "We're bag people."  
  


* * *

  


"That was awesome!" Drew cried as the five Zeo Rangers demorphed.

"Whoa!" Roland cried. "Look at Jo!"

Jo reached behind her and pulled a long braid over her shoulder. "I'm back to normal!" she cried happily.

"You look the same as you did earlier," Aisha said.

"Jo accidentally had a spell cast on her a few months ago to make her look different," Flabber said. "I put another spell on her so that everybody else would see the old Jo, but we could tell she was different."

"I've got my old face back, and my hair!" Jo cried happily.

"The Zeo Crystal is very powerful," Billy said. "It obviously senses that there was a spell on Jo, and removed it."

"I am so glad to be back to normal," Jo said. "And I love these new powers and this awesome armor!"

"You guys were Flabber-ific," Flabber said proudly.

"Well, now that we know you guys can handle yourself," Billy said, "we should get going."

"We have a lot of dimensions to visit and not but about seventy years left to live," Kimberly said.

"Well you should at least wait until morning," Nano said. "Get some rest and a good meal in your bellies."

"We have nowhere to stay," Rocky said.

"You do if Nano is in town," Nano said. "You kids can stay at my house tonight."

"Great!" Billy cried. "We can leave tomorrow morning."

"Could you feed us tonight?" Rocky asked.

"We are starting to get hungry," Katherine agreed.

"Just follow me home," Nano said.

"I'll catch up with you guys in a minute," Billy said. "I need to talk to Flabber."

"Okay," Nano said. She gave Billy the directions to her house, and they all left.

"What it is, Billy?" Flabber asked.

"If you all have the Zeo Power, you might attract evil space aliens," Billy said. "It kind of acts like a beacon."

Flabber's face literally turned white. "Evil space aliens?" Flabber asked.

"Yeah," Billy said. "But the Zeo Power can handle it. You'll just need to invent some Zords."

"What's a Zord?"

"A giant fighting assault vehicle for each of the Rangers," Billy said. "They can also combine to form a giant robot, called the MegaZord."

"Well, I can make some if I had a drawing of them," Flabber said.

"Okay," Billy said. "I'll draw up some plans tonight. You'll also need communicators."

"To ... communicate?" Flabber asked.

Billy took his communicator off and handed it to Flabber. "That, and they also allow its user to teleport," Billy said. "If evil Space Aliens do appear, they'll have to get out here faster than bikes can get them here. Take mine, and use it to produce five more."

"Uhm, I'll have to have a drawing of it," Flabber said.

"How could a blueprint of the communicator do more good than the actual communicator?" Billy asked.

"I can make these come off of paper and into the 3-D world," Flabber said. "That's how we got the BeetleBorg Powers. They're from a comic book."

"You're kidding?" Billy asked.

"Dead men don't kid," Flabber said.  
  


* * *

  


"Nano," Rocky said, "can't nobody hold a candle to your cooking."

"I know that's right," Nano said.

"Nano?" Aisha asked. "Do you know of a place in town I can get a job?"

"I sure don't," Nano said. "All of the summer jobs are filled."

"What am I gonna do you guys?" Aisha whispered to the Rangers. "I have nowhere to stay."

"You can stay with me," Nano said. "Is that why you've been dancin' all over the place tonight?"

"You heard me?" Aisha asked.

"I've got ears like a hawk," Nano said. "You're free to stay here as long as you need to."

"Oh thank you," Aisha said. "Just until I get a job and I can afford a place of my own, I promise."

"Billy?" Katherine asked. "What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to draw a good picture of the Zeo Zords," he said. "Flabber has to have it to make them."

"Blueprints?" Jason asked.

"Comic," Billy said. "But I can't seem to get it to look right."

"Let me give it a shot," Aisha said, taking the notebook and pencil from him.  
  


* * *

  


"I didn't sleep very well," Kimberly complained the next morning.

"Worried?" Katherine asked.

"Yeah," Kimberly said. "I wonder if my mom knows yet."

"I wonder what they'll tell our parents?" Katherine asked.

"I don't know," Kimberly said. "Maybe we'll get home soon."

"You don't believe that any more than I do," Kat said, stretching her sleep-sore muscles.

"I have never been this scared," Kimberly said. "I was almost raped yesterday. By someone who looks like one of my best friends, of all things."

"Rocky was nearly eaten," Katherine said. "I was attacked by a mummy, a Frankenstein reject, and a werewolf."

"I wonder where we'll sleep tonight," Kimberly said.

"You know what I'm really afraid of," Katherine said. "We'll keep on sliding, trying to get home, and eventually we'll find a world that is really good. Really similar to home, but not quite. And we'll decide to stay there rather than keep on trying to reach home."

"We'll get home, Kat," Kimberly said. "Someday."  
  


* * *

  


"These drawings are great, Aisha!" Flabber cried. Aisha smiled in spite of herself.

"We really should be going," Billy said.

Flabber and the House Monsters followed the five departing Rangers out onto the porch.

"You guys," Aisha said, "thanks for everything."

"Glad we could help," Jason said.

"Good luck," Nano said.

Billy pulled the remote out of his pocket. "We'll need it," he said. He pointed the device in front of him and pushed the button. The wormhole appeared before them.

"Oooh oooh," Frankenbeans stammered. "Pretty."

"Oh wait!" Nano cried. She ran out to the five teens. "I almost forgot to give you this." She pulled a white envelope out of her pocket and handed it to Kimberly.

"What is it?" Kimberly asked, starting to open the envelope.

"No," Nano said. "You can open it on the next world. Just say Thank You and hit the road."

"Thanks Nano," Kimberly said. She put the envelope in her pocket and looked at the portal. She waved goodbye to her new-found friends and leapt into the wormhole. The other four were close behind.  
  


* * *

  


"I don't think we landed near a city," Jason said.

"Check the envelope, Kim," Rocky said.

"Right." She pulled the white envelope out of her pocket and carefully opened. "Oh my gosh."

"What is it?" Billy asked.

"Money," Kimberly said. She riffled through the tens, twenties, and fifties in the envelope. "Several hundred dollars, at least."

"I can't believe she did that," Katherine said.

"We're gonna need the money," Jason said. "Not many places hire people to work for only three hours."

Kimberly quickly rifled through the money. "Five hundred dollars even," she said. She sat back on the ground with a thud. "Just what I need. Another guilt trip."

"She gave it to us," Rocky said. "We didn't ask for it or take it by mistake."

"Let's divide it up," Jason said. "So no one person has all of the money. Just in case."

"Good idea," Billy agreed. After the money was divided, the five teens set out to find civilization.  
  


* * *

  


"We're just in the country," Rocky said. They had seen several houses, people, and animals. Nothing was out of the ordinary.

"I say we just find a nice, safe secluded place to rest, and in two and a half hours, slide outta here," Kat said.  
  


* * *

  
  
Ten Days Later...  


"Yes!" Rocky shouted, landing neatly on his feet. He hopped forward once to keep from toppling over, but he remained standing. "I finally landed on my feet!"

Katherine suddenly materialized behind him in a white flash. She rolled into his back almost immediately on appearing. Rocky crumpled up beneath her and hit the ground with Katherine on top of him.

"That's what you get for bragging," Jason laughed. Kimberly suddenly landed on top of him, knocking him flat on his back before he even realized she was there. Billy somersaulted out of the air as well, crashing into Kat and Rocky.

"This is getting more and more painful," Rocky complained. "Get off me Kat."

The past ten days had been fairly uneventful as far as unique worlds went. They had yet to come across another world with any type of super-hero. There was one world where a Jack-the-Ripper was attacking modern-day Sacramento, but they didn't stay in that world any longer than necessary and didn't have to come in contact with the murderer. Their most pressing concern was that their cash was quickly being depleted. They had taken to eating only twice a day and tried to find the various all-you-can-eat for under four dollar buffets. They slept outdoors as often as they could, although every few days they did rent the cheapest motel room there was, just so they could have access to a shower with soap. They kept as clean as possible by using public restrooms, although that was getting old very quick. Kimberly still had the occasional guilt trip, since it technically was her fault they were stuck cruising the dimensions, hoping and praying that each slide would be the slide home.

"I wish I had worn my class ring," Kat said.

"Why's that?" Billy asked.

"We could pawn it," she said. "It's 10 karat gold."

"How much money do we have left?" Rocky asked.

"Forty bucks," Jason said sorrowfully.

"Hey Billy," Kimberly said, looking at the broken communicator on her wrist that she still hadn't bothered to throw away. "Are the communicators made of any kind of valuable material?"

"Not really," Billy said. "There's a small bit of golden wiring in them, but the combined amount from our five communicators would be so small I doubt a gold dealer would actually bother fooling with us."

"We could always rob a bank," Rocky said.

"That's just your empty stomach talking," Kat said.

"Durn right," Rocky agreed. "I'm starved."

"We haven't eaten in a while," Kimberly said. "Let's go find a bathroom, get cleaned up, and find a restaurant. I'm starting to get light-headed."

"Hey, wait a minute," Katherine said. She took a quick view of her surroundings. "Doesn't this place look familiar?"

"The Park," Kimberly said. "Do you think this might be Angel Grove?"

"It looks like it might be," Jason said.

"Who knows, this might be home," Rocky laughed. Suddenly, Jason and Billy's communicators, the only two still working, beeped a very familiar six tone melody.

"Do you think we might be home?" Kimberly asked, hoping beyond all hope that they really were home.

"We read you, Zordon," a very familiar yet strange voice said over the communicators.

"Who was that?" Rocky asked.

"Rangers, please report to the Power Chamber immediately," Zordon said.

"Shoot," Kimberly muttered. "So much for being home."

"Maybe they can help us though," Billy said.

"Can we teleport to the Power Chamber?" Kimberly asked.

"What if they aren't friendly Rangers?" Rocky asked.

"Let's go the Juice Bar," Jason said. "If there are Rangers, eventually we'll come across them."  
  


* * *

  


"Thank God for the Juice Bar's showers," Jason said, putting his clothes back on. The three guys were fortunate enough to have the Men's Locker Room to themselves and didn't have to explain why they used liquid soap for shampoo or why they dried themselves off with paper towels. There was apparently a Monster Attack, because the entire Juice Bar was empty but not closed down.

Rocky held his shirt under the hand dryer while Billy attempted to scrub some stains out of his and Jason's shirts in the sink.

A loud knock came at the door. "You guys decent?" Katherine asked.

"Yeah," Jason answered. "Come on in."

"They had the same idea we did," Katherine said. The two girl's shirts weren't quite dry, but they were clean.

"People have been staring at us," Rocky said. Billy wrung the last bit of water from the now-clean shirts, and stretched them out on the long bench that ran the length of the room to dry out.

"I can't help but wonder what it's like back home," Kimberly said.

"Like who took our places as Turbo Rangers," Jason said.

"Or what they told our parents," Rocky said sadly. "I can't believe I yelled at Alex the last time I saw him."

"He knows you didn't mean it," Billy said.

"He's eight years old," Rocky said. "I don't know if he does or not."

"I wonder if we'll be home in time to start college in the fall," Katherine said.

"Aren't you going to London in the fall?" Jason asked.

"I had planned to," Katherine said, "but not now."

"As much as I hate to be a downer," Billy said, "I seriously doubt we'll be home by fall."

"Even if we got home right now," Kat said, "I still wouldn't go. I miss my family too much. I'm not leaving Angel Grove again."

"Going to London is very different from going across the dimensions," Rocky said.

"Maybe so," Kat said, "but in London I won't be near my family."

"I know how you feel," Kimberly said. "I really regret going to Florida."

"Sometimes I regret going to the Peace Conference," Jason said thoughtfully.

A long, loud siren suddenly sounded. "That's the all-clear," Billy said, getting his wet shirt off of the bench. "We had better get out of here. Especially you two."

"Let's go see if we can find some friends," Rocky said.  
  


* * *

  


"Hey Billy!" a happy voice cried.

"Hmm?" Billy asked, turning around to find the voice's source. Suddenly, a gorgeous woman with long dark auburn hair was standing before him. "Hi," Billy said.

She touched his hand, and a strange look crossed her face. "Billy?" she asked.

"Yeah?" Billy asked. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said. She yanked her hand back and said, "I'll be right back."

"Okay," Billy said.

"What was that all about?" Rocky asked.

"Do you know her?" Kimberly asked.

"I've never seen that girl in all my life," Billy said in awe.  
  


* * *

  


"Hey Christina!" David cried as the White Ranger ran past him in a hurry. "Where are you off to?"

"Something is very wrong ," Christina said. "There is somebody in the Juice Bar that looks like Billy, but I don't think it is."

"Who do you think it is?" David asked.

"I have no idea," Christina said. "Would you do me a favor? Go to the Power Chamber and have Alpha see if anything weird is going on. I have something I need to do."

"Sure thing," David said. He checked to see if anyone was around. When satisfied that the coast was clear, he teleported away in a red streak of light.  
  


* * *

  


Christina ran into Billy's backyard. Her boyfriend and Skull were circling each other, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. "You two can spar later," Christina said. "Billy, did I just talk to you at the Youth Center."

Billy gave Christina an odd look. "Are you feeling okay?"

"There is somebody in the Youth Center that looks just like you!" Christina cried. The communicators suddenly beeped.

"We read you, Zordon," Billy said.

"Actually, it's David," the voice answeredp>Billy was hurled from the wormhole, slamming into Kimberly who had finally managed to climb to her feet. "Sorry," Billy muttered.

"It's okay," Kimberly said, standing up a

"I knew it," Christina remarked. "Alpha, have everybody meet me at the Juice Bar, right now."  
  


* * *

  


"Oh my goodness," Katherine said. "She looks just like me."

"Do we just go up to them?" Adam asked.

"Yes," Trey said. "It's not like they're going to attack us."

"Let's go meet ourselves," Rocky added.  
  


* * *

  


"Hi," David said, approaching the table where the five Rangers sat.

"Hi," Jason said.

"We can't help but notice that you all look like some of us," Billy said.

"Small world, huh?" Kimberly asked.

An unfamiliar girl who seemed to be even shorter than Kimberly with flaming red hair approached her. "I'm gonna cut straight to the point," the girl said. "Are you from this dimension or aren't you?"

"That was smooth," Tanya said.

"We aren't," Billy said. In a lower voice, he whispered, "Are you the Rangers?"

The large group of twelve teens traded looks. "Let's go to the Power Chamber," Christina said.  
  


* * *

  


"You know the first five, and Gold Ranger, right?" Adam asked.

"Right," Billy said. "But after that..."

"I don't think the rest of you even exist on our world," Jason said.

"If you do, we've never met you," Kimberly added.

"I'm the Purple Ranger," the short redhead said. "I'm Jamie Zedden. My father is Lord Zedd. Long story short, he used to be good, was turned evil, now he's good again and has remarried my mom."

"Jenga," Katherine and Billy said at the same time.

"What?" Jamie asked.

"On our world, Lord Zedd's mother is named Jenga," Billy said. "She's the most evil person in existence, and she has beautiful red hair only she has three blue streaks in it. Her hair has more an auburn look to it, though."

"Do you have a Jenga here?" Kimberly asked.

"Queen Jenga of the Xett Empire," Zordon said solemnly. "I have not heard of her in some time, but I suspect she is still in existence."

"My grandmother?" Jamie asked in awe. "Wow."

"Anyway," a girl with auburn hair said. "My name is Christina Collins. I'm the White Zeo Ranger, and I'm dating Billy on this world." The other Billy smiled proudly. "One thing that kind of makes me stand out is I have ... abilities. I'm a telepathic, I have healing capabilities, I can break spells, and I can multiply power."

"You definitely aren't in our dimension," Rocky said.

"I guess I should go next," yet another girl with auburn hair volunteered. "My name is Katarina Petronov, Silver Ranger. I'm from Russia, if you haven't guessed from my accent. And I'm dating Rocky, here."

"You have beautiful eyes," Rocky said, looking into her crystal clear violet eyes. The other Rocky protectively moved closer to his girlfriend.

"I guess I should go next," another unfamiliar voice said. "I'm the Black Ranger, Lillian O'Neil. And since everyone else said who they're dating, I'll mention that I'm dating Tommy."

"Where is Tommy?" Katherine asked.

"He has taken a hiatus from the team," Zordon said. "Physical and emotional stress has taken it's toll on him, and he's taking a break."

"There's also something we have on this world called Morphin Warriors," Billy said. "Those of us who once owned a Power Coin have the ability to call upon the remnants of our power. It's sort of like our Ninja Ranger suits, sort of, but not exactly. I know that's a horrible analogy, but it's the closest one I can think of. We all have different types of suits, but we're fairly well equaled in power."

"I also have the Morphin Warrior power, because of the time loop disturbance thingy from the Orb of Doom fiasco," Skull said. He puffed up his chest and said, "And I'm dating Kimberly on this world."

"I'm dating Skull back home," Kimberly said with a big smile.

"Really?" Skull asked.

"Really," Kimberly said, still smiling.

"And Bulk is dating Dulcea," Rocky said with a smile.

"You're kidding?" Rocky asked.

"Serious as a heart attack," Rocky replied.

"Dulcea is living on Earth now because Catalina gave her the Crystal of Time," Katherine said.

"Catalina is dead here," Zordon said simply. No one knew what to say, until Zordon said at last, "But I suspect many things differ greatly across the dimensional walls."

"Yes they do," Billy agreed.  
  


* * *

  


"Do my sensors deceive me?" King Mondo asked.

"Nay, sire," Klank said. "There are five more Rangers on the Earth. An' even better yet, they are powered by an unfamiliar source of magic."

"Making them vulnerable to our attacks!" King Mondo laughed. "Klank! Orbus! Send down some cogs and get our toughest machine ready for battle."

"Aye sire."  
  


* * *

  


"Aye-yi-yi!" Alpha cried. "Another monster attack!"

"Again?" Billy asked. "That's never happened before."

"King Mondo must be aware of our new friends presence," Zordon said.

"We can help," Jason volunteered.

"Are you powered by the Zeo Crystal?" Adam asked.

"No, Ninjetti," Katherine answered. She noticed the other Billy flinch at this, but didn't pay much attention.

"Is it magic?" Zordon asked, to which Billy nodded.

"You won't do much good," Tanya said. "Cold iron repels magic."

"It doesn't on our world," Kimberly said.

"Isn't the whole Ranger concept based on magic?" Rocky asked.

"The Zeo Crystal is science in origin, kinda-sorta," Lillian said.

"Yet another dimensional discontinuity," both Billys said in perfect unison.

"Uhm, you guys?" Katarina said. "While we're standing here discussing the Zeo Crystal, the Cogs are approaching the city."

"Let's take care of 'em guys," David said. "It's Morphin Time!"  
  


* * *

  


"Ten Zeo Rangers," Billy said, looking into the viewing screen.

"They look cool," Kimberly said, "although their armor looks an awful lot like spandex."

"Yours doesn't?" Alpha asked.

"Our armor actually looks like armor," Rocky said.

"How so?" Billy asked.

"I'll just show you," Billy said. "TRICERATOPS --- WOLF!!!" In a sudden flash of blue, Billy was wearing his blue armor. He removed his helmet and put it in the crook of his arm.

"Wow," Billy said. "It's so shiny? What is it made of?"

"A bizarre plastic-metal alloy," Billy explained.

"It looks like it would be hard to move in, but it isn't," Kimberly said.  
  


* * *

  


"Tyler!" Rita snapped. "Get in here!"

Tommy's evil Dark Reflection quickly made his presence known. "Yes my queen?"

"There are five more Rangers on Earth," Rita said. "Go do something about it!"

"Yes my queen," Tyler said.  
  


* * *

  


"Aye-yi-yi!" Alpha cried yet again. "Rita's attacking now! We're all doomed!!"

"Calm down, Alpha," Billy said.

"Rita, huh?" Billy asked. "We could probably fight her monsters, right?"

"I would assume so," Zordon said.

"We can help," Rocky said.

"I've been kind of itching to get back in battle myself," Jason said. "We haven't seen a bit of action since the Beetleborgs."

"I'll also dispatch the Morphin Warriors," Billy said. Billy put the call out over the communicators, and then said to Skull, "Ready?"

"You know it," Skull said.

"It's Morphin Time!" Billy shouted.

"Triceratops!"

"White Tiger!"

"PTERODACTYL --- CRANE!!!"

"TYRANNOSAURUS --- COUGAR!!!"

"ZEO RANGER I, PINK --- BUTTERFLY!!!"

"ZEO RANGER III, BLUE --- APE!!!"

"BACK TO ACTION!!!"  
  


* * *

  


"I think that's Tommy," Kimberly said, upon landing on the battlefield. She saw what she presumed to be a Green Morphin Warrior standing in the park. "Tommy!" Kimberly cried.

"Kimberly?" Tommy asked.

"Sort of," Kimberly answered, running up to her. "I thought Rita was attacking."

"I thought so, too," Tommy said coldly. "Can I see your face, Kimberly? I know you aren't our Kimberly, or I assume from what I heard from David, but I'd still like to see you."

Kimberly gave the park one last quick scan. Once satisfied that there were no Tengas, Cogs, Putties, or miscellaneous bad guys, she reached up and inserted her fingers into the crevice which broke the seal of her helmet. She carefully opened it and pulled it away from her face.

"You look just like ... our Kimberly," Tommy said.

"You look just like our Tommy," Kimberly said with a smile.  
  


* * *

  


Skull dodged an especially angry Tenga and searched for the Rangers. "Where's Kim?" he asked. He quickly realized that the Pink Ranger was not with them. Even though she wasn't his Kimberly, he still felt a great deal of concern for her. "Kimberly!" he shouted.

Kat brought her Shield down in a wide arc, greatly injuring several Tengas who ventured too close. "I don't see her, either!" Katherine called. She spoke directly into the microphone just before her lips, built into the helmet. "Kimberly? Where are you?"

"Did she teleport with us?" Billy the Ranger asked, blocking a Tenga with his Power Lances.

"I'm gonna go try and find her," Skull volunteered. "You guys hold your own here?"

"Yeah, we're fine," Billy the Morphin Warrior said, freezing a Tenga with his laser pistol.

Skull quickly ran out of battle, the Rangers and Morphin Warriors holding the Tengas at bay.  
  


* * *

  


"Tommy?" Kimberly asked. "Where is everyone?"

"Don't worry about that right now," Tommy said. "Let's just talk for a minute."

"We came out here because we thought Rita was attacking," Kimberly said. "I'm going back to the Power Chamber."

"No," Tommy said, leaping to his feet. He grabbed her by the arms forcefully.

"Tommy?" Kimberly asked fearfully. She pushed him away and backed up a step. "What's going on?"  
  


* * *

  


"Tyler," Skull growled through clenched teeth. He watched, still running toward them, as he grabbed her by the arms. Anger ripped through the White Morphin Warrior at his girlfriend's double's assault. Kimberly yanked away from Tyler just as Skull ran up to them.

"Get back Kim!" Skull shouted. "That's not Tommy!"

Kimberly looked the Green Morphin Warrior square in the eyes. "Excuse me?"

"Tyler," he said, grabbing her hand.

"BACK TO ACTION!!!" Kimberly cried. She jerked her hand back and kicked Tommy in the chest. He stumbled back, for even the Morphin Warriors were not as strong as the Rangers. Before either one of them had a chance to strike, Tyler disappeared in a teleport.

"Who was that?" Kimberly asked.

"Tyler, Tommy's evil Dark Reflection," Skull said. "And Rita's newest lackey. He's bad news."

"Apparently," Kim agreed. "Wasn't there a fight going on someplace?"

"Oh, the Tengas!" Skull shouted. "Follow me."  
  


* * *

  


"Now," Trini said after the fight, "would someone please explain who the new Rangers are?"

"Let's go back to the Power Chamber," Billy said. "It'd be safer for them to tell you there."  
  


* * *

  


"And we're trying to find our way home," Katherine said. "We haven't had much luck."

"What are the other worlds like?" Zack asked.

"This is only the third world we've come across that had Rangers on it," Kimberly said. "There was a world with superheroes on it called BeetleBorgs. Actually, they have Rangers now."

"There was one world," Rocky said, "where Tanya and Trini were dictators."

Trini's eyebrows shot up at the remark. "What?"

"Everything was yellow," Jason said. "That was not a fun world."

"We didn't stay there any longer than we had to," Katherine said.

"I was almost eaten," Rocky complained.

"Kat and I were nearly raped," Kimberly said.

"I was almost eaten," Rocky said again, not too fond of having the attention taken off of him.

"Rocky was almost eaten," Kimberly said.

"The worst part is, we're almost out of money," Billy said. He immediately regretted saying it.

"But we're doing okay," Jason said, trying to cover for him.

"Do you all need money?" Billy asked.

"No," Katherine said. "We had a bad enough guilt trip over taking Nano's money."

"Who?" Zack asked.

"Nice lady from the BeetleBorg world," Kimberly said. "She gave us five hundred dollars, but we didn't know until we were on the next world."

"What I need is a meal," Rocky said.

"We are hungry," Katherine agreed. "Can you recommend a good inexpensive restaurant?"

"That serves an all you can eat buffet?" Billy added.

"I've got a better idea," Billy said. "Why don't you all come eat dinner at my house?"

"Yes," Kimberly and Rocky said in unison.  
  


* * *

  


Billy's cooking wasn't much, as either Billy could have told them, but it was food and it was free. After dinner, they were presented with the dilemma of sliding or hanging around to catch up on their sleep. Sleep won out, and Billy offered to let them crash with him. They spent the night talking about the differences between the dimensions.  
  


* * *

  


The Zeo Rangers and Morphin Warriors were in the park the next morning. After a lengthy series of goodbyes, Billy activated the wormhole. "Maybe the next world is home," Kimberly said hopefully.

"That sounds awfully uncertain," Tanya said. "How do you know the next world isn't some psycho world?"

"There is no way of knowing," Jason said. He ran at the portal and dove into it, sending a brief flash of red light across them. Rocky was close behind.

"How long does it stay open?" Adam cried over the rush of the wind coming from it.

"Until all five of us have passed through," Billy answered. Kat waved goodbye and jumped into the spinning wormhole.

Suddenly, a green flash of light blinded them all. "Tyler!" somebody yelled.

"BILLY!!!" Kimberly screamed. The evil Green Morphin Warrior had her draped over his shoulder and was running toward a smaller, door-shaped green portal of light.

"Kimberly!!!" Billy shouted. Without taking a moment's hesitation, he tossed the timer into the wormhole and ran after them. Summoning his morpher, he yelled, "TRICERATOPS --- WOLF!!!" Still running, he pulled the Power Blaster from the holster at his hip and fired at Tyler. He and Kimberly disappeared into the strange doorway which promptly closed behind them.  
  


* * *

  


"The Zeo Rangers are guarding the wormhole," Billy said.

"We have to get Kimberly back soon," Billy said. "I don't know how long that portal is designed to stay open."

"Where is she?" Zack asked.

"She is most likely in Tyler's personal pocket dimension," Zordon said.

"Oh my God," Kimberly said. "Tyler wanted me to be his ... mistress, so to speak. We have got to get her back now."

"Kimberly can hold her own against Tyler," Billy said. "If she can morph."

"If she's even given the chance," Zack growled angrily.

"Let me teleport to the moon and get her back," Billy pleaded.

"The other Billy may be able to stay on the moon for a short period of time undetected," Alpha said thoughtfully. "You'll have to stay close to her mobile home though. The atmosphere probably won't extend very far."

"I'll go too," Jason said. "You might need cover."

"I'll come as well," Kimberly said. "I have an idea."

"Let's go," Billy said. The other Billy quickly punched in a few commands, and the three teleport streams darted out of the Power Chamber.  
  


* * *

  


Jason, Billy, and Kimberly landed behind the vehicle. "What's your plan, Kim?" Jason asked.

"Tyler has a thing for me, right?" Kimberly asked. "I'll just convince him that I've changed my time, and give you two time to get the other Kimberly. Just make sure you don't forget about me."

"Good deal," Billy said. Kimberly left the two men and walked into the vehicle.

Goldar and Rito suddenly rushed her. "It's a Power Ranger!" Goldar growled, threatening to filet her with his Sword.

"I'm here to see Tyler," Kimberly said in as cold a voice as possible.

"He's already got one Kimberly," Rito said.

"But I'm the real deal," Kimberly said. "Contact Tyler."  
  


* * *

  


"LET GO OF ME!!!" Kimberly screamed, kicking Tyler firmly in the stomach. With a grunt, he fell off of the bed. She scrambled over the other side and ran to the wall. Her hands frantically skimmed the green surface, looking for any way out. She felt just like she had when Adam tried to rape her, days ago on a different world.

Suddenly, a green doorway appeared on the other side of the room. Rito stepped into the small room. "Tyler," Rito said. "We've got another Kimberly out here who said she's willing to be your love puppet."

"All right," Tyler said happily. "Two Kimberlys. You stay here." He and Rito left through the green portal which promptly closed behind them.  
  


* * *

  


"Go," Billy whispered. Jason dissolved into a red stream of light which darted into the green portal after Tyler stepped through. Fortunately for everyone, nobody saw it.

"Tyler," Kimberly said seductively.

"Oh, Kimberly," he moaned. He slowly walked up to her. "Is this for real?"

Kimberly glanced over his shoulder at the green doorway. She had to stall. "This is as real as it gets, baby," Kimberly said in her sexiest voice. She pressed her back up against him and pulled his arms around her. "Forgive me Skull," Kimberly thought to herself. She melted in his arms, sinking toward the floor.  
  


* * *

  


Jason materialized beside the bed. He held one hand out, still stuck in the green doorway. That seemed to be enough to keep it open. "Come on Kimberly," Jason said.

"Oh thank you," Kimberly breathed. She quickly ran over to the portal and stepped through it.  
  


* * *

  


"Yes," Kimberly thought happily as she saw Jason and the other Kimberly step out of the portal. She quickly turned around in Tyler's arms. With a hi-yaah, she kicked him in the stomach, so taking him by surprise he hit the ground.

"Let's get out of here!" Billy cried, running up to the doorway. "Take us to the park."

Jason and Kimberly latched on to the other Kimberly and Billy and the four teleported away, leaving several very confused henchmen and Tyler.  
  


* * *

  


Billy and Kimberly hit the ground running. "We don't have time to talk!" Billy shouted.

"Thanks for everything!" Kimberly shouted to the other Kimberly.

"Don't worry about it!" Kimberly answered with a wave goodbye.

"How long has the portal been open?" Kimberly asked as the ran across the park toward it.

"About half an hour," Billy said. Kimberly slipped her hand into his. The Zeo Rangers moved away from the portal to let them jump through.

"Thanks again!" Billy shouted. The two jumped into the portal at the same time. It flashed a bright lavender, and immediately closed.

"Oh man," Billy said as soon as he and the other Morphin Warriors teleported to the park. He pulled an envelope out of his pocket and thumped it against his open palm. "I forgot to give them this." He stuck the money that they the Rangers had all collected for them back in his pocket.  
  


* * *

  


Katherine looked up at the air. "Where are they?" she asked. Suddenly, a much smaller burst of light flashed, and the timer tumbled out of the air. She caught it before it hit the ground. "Billy? Kim?"

"What could have happened to them?" Rocky asked.

"Maybe they're just being lengthy with their goodbyes," Jason said hopefully.

"Uhm, you guys," Rocky said frantically. "We've got company."

Dozens of tanned people dressed in various animal skins and leather approached them. All had very dark hair and carried an assortment of primitive weapons. "This can't be good," Jason said, slowly getting to his feet. He held his hands up in a peaceful gesture.

Suddenly, a feathered dart struck his neck. He gasped but hit the ground sound asleep before he was even aware of what it was. "Jase?" Rocky asked, just before he too was shot with the tranquilizer.

Katherine looked up in horror. Several of the savages rushed up to her. Before she could even scream, they stopped at her feet. Dropping to their knees, they all said something in a language that sounded familiar, yet unrecognizable. "Who are you people?" Katherine asked in horror.

They said nothing but lowered their heads in respect. Several of the savage women stepped up to her. The women began to speak in that strange yet familiar language. After conferring on something and agreeing, they picked Katherine up.

"Put me down!" Katherine demanded, but the women were much stronger than she was. She struggled to break free, but they lifted her above their head and marched away.  
  


* * *

  


"Please don't," Katherine pleaded. The four tanned women carried her into a village, comprised of numerous buildings. Some were brick, some were stone, and some where wood, but they all looked more complex than what should have been built by the savages. Katherine was carried toward a white stone building.

She was carried through the building, finally reaching a very elaborate bedroom. It was decorated entirely in white. It had every amenity a person without technology could want, including a beautiful canopy bed and a full bathroom. They threw her down on the bed, and the women quickly proceeded to undress her, despite her screams and cries for help. Fearing the worst, they soon had her completely nude. However, much to her surprise and relief, they clothed her again, this time in their clothing. She found herself in a surprisingly comfortable outfit, made entirely of soft supple leather, and was placed gently on the bed.

One of the women began to speak. Katherine only caught one word. "Later."  
  


* * *

  


Billy and Kimberly flew out of the portal, tangled up in each other's arms. "Are you okay?" Kimberly asked as she crawled off of him.

"Yeah, I think so," Billy said. He sat up and looked around him. "Where are the others?"

"Wouldn't they have waited here for us?" Kimberly asked.

"I would think so," Billy said.

"Is it possible we came out at a different place than them?"

"Negative," Billy said. "They would have come out right here." Suddenly, he clamped his hand over the side of his neck and hit the ground.

"Billy!" Kimberly cried. She darted over to him and pulled the feathered dart from his neck. Before she could do anything else for him, several strong hands picked her up. "NO!" Kimberly shouted, but her captives paid no mind and hauled her away.  
  


* * *

  


Kimberly hit the ground with a grunt. She spun around in the hopes of getting a glimpse of her captors, but a heavy iron door slammed shut. She was in a small cold cell with metal walls. The floor was covered with a very soft straw. At first, she thought she was alone. However, as she glanced into the back corner of the cell, she saw Jason and Rocky, completely still.

"Guys," she said, hurrying over to them. Much to her relief, they had a strong steady pulse. They were just knocked out. Satisfied that at least two of her friends were safe, she immediately began to formulate a plan to escape.  
  


* * *

  


"Why won't it work?" Katherine griped. She twisted her arm again, concentrating on calling up her morpher as hard as she could. Nothing happened. She tried the It's Morphin Time process again, also producing no results. "Zeo Ranger I, Pink," she said sadly. "Butterfly." Still not morphed, she flopped down on the bed. "What's gonna happen to me?"

The doors suddenly flew open. She looked up in time to see several men carry an unconscious Billy into the room. "Billy!" she cried happily.

One of the men set Billy on his feet and held him up by his armpits. The others began to undress him, much like the women had undressed her. She was compelled to watched, and mortified by her thoughts, but turned away, trying to give Billy some privacy.

A gentle hand lighted on her shoulder. Katherine turned around to find herself staring into the eyes of a young teenage black girl. "Hell-o," the black girl said, very jerkingly.

"Hello," Katherine said, stunned.

"My name Uhma," the girl said. "You?"

"Katherine," she answered. She immediately realized that this girl knew only a bit of English, and tried to simplify what she wanted to say to the lowest denominator. "What ... is this?"

The black girl said something in the foreign language, and then said, "Queen." She pointed to Billy and said, "Keeng."

"Queen and King?" Katherine asked in awe.

"Yes," Uhma said. "Queen and King." She reached out and gently touched Katherine's hair. "Yell-oh." Pointing at Billy, she again said, "Yell-oh." Uhma thought for a minute and then said, "Dark say yell-oh hair from sky Queen and King."

Katherine tried her best to digest the information. She decided she would just say what she wanted to say, and hope that Uhma would understand. "We are Queen and King because we have yellow hair?"

"Yes, yes," Uhma said happily. "Yellow hair. None here have yellow hair. None here from sky like Queen and King. You and he ... babies."

"Not again," Katherine muttered.

"Again?" Uhma asked.

"Nothing," Katherine said. She looked over and saw that Billy was now dressed. The men carrying him carefully laid him on the bed and left.

"Queen and King make babies," Uhma said. "Babies ..." Uhma paused, searching desperately for a word. "Babies make bridge."

"Bridge?" Katherine asked.

"Babies make bridge," Uhma said definitely. "Queen and King be bridge too maybe. You talk dark good."

Billy moaned and began to shift slightly on the bed. "Go now," Uhma said, turning to leave. She stopped at the door and motioned at the bed. "Queen and King make babies soon." She then left, shutting the door behind her.

"Oh boy," Katherine said, sitting down beside Billy.  
  


* * *

  


Kimberly sat down between Jason and Rocky. "So cold," she whispered. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

"Kim?" Rocky murmured.

"Rocky," Kimberly said. She reached over to him and helped him into a seated position.

"What's ... where are we?"

"I don't know," Kimberly said.

"Cold," Rocky said simply.

"Me too," Kimberly said. "Come closer." She helped him crawl closer to her. She wrapped her arms around his body. With a yawn, he collapsed against her body and fell to sleep. Kimberly didn't mind the extra weight. Most of it rested against her lap, and besides, he helped warm her.  
  


* * *

  


"And that's everything they told me," Katherine said.

"Yellow hair from sky," Billy said. "They must have seen us come out of the portal. From the sky."

"And you've gotten a lot more blonde since we've been spending so much time outside," Katherine said. "And my hair goes without saying."

Billy walked away from the door. "We're not getting out of here any time soon," he said.

"What are we gonna do?" Katherine asked.

"I don't know," Billy answered truthfully.  
  


* * *

  


Jason and Rocky had finally woken up. The sedative that was administered to them left them feeling somewhat groggy but otherwise okay. Their captives brought them some food a few hours after they had woke up. It was pretty simple, mainly just raw fruits and vegetables, but seemed to be safe, so they ate it eagerly.

After the meal, Jason and Rocky tried to break out of the cell. Not really surprising, they had no success. Instead of continuing to waste their energy trying to escape the inescapable cell, the three huddled up in one corner of the room to share their body warmth.  
  


* * *

  


"We've been here a long time," Billy said. "Man, I've never felt this useless."

"I'm starting to get sleepy," Kat said. "I wish there was a window."

"It's surely after dark," Billy told her. "They've fed us two meals. I'm starting to get sleepy myself."

"What are our sleeping arrangements gonna be?" Kat asked.

"Huh?" Billy asked. "Oh, you can take the bed. I'll sleep on the floor."

"That's not right," Katherine said. "We can both take the bed."

"Are you sure?" Billy asked.

"We'll keep our clothes on and stay on our own side of the bed," Katherine said. "I trust you, Billy."

"Okay," Billy said with a sheepish grin. "Let me use the bathroom, and then we'll blow out the lamps and hit the hay."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Katherine said, rolling her head around. "Tomorrow, we'll try and get out of here. We can rush them when they bring us our breakfast."

"Who has the timer?" Billy asked.

"It's in my shorts pocket," Kat said. "We'll have to find wherever they stashed my clothes."

"I wonder where the others are," Billy said as he walked into the bathroom, which strangely enough had running water. After Billy was finished, Katherine also got ready for bed.

Billy carried one of their oil lamps over to a bedside table. He set it down and looked at his friend on the other side of the bed. "This is weird, isn't it?" he asked.

"I just realized that," Katherine said.

"I think I will crash on the floor," Billy said.

"No," Katherine said, lifting up the covers. "That's not fair. Us sleeping side by side under the covers is no different than us sitting side by side on top of the covers. We're both adults, sort of, and besides, we're both seeing someone else, so we don't have to worry about any sort of weird sexual tension thing. Right?"

"Right," Billy agreed. He lifted up his side of the bed and slipped beneath the warm blankets. They were in such a bizarre world. It was almost like the savages had just been dumped into a modern day world. Home made leather clothing, but running water and porcelain toilets. It was very bizarre.

Billy slipped beneath the covers. He placed his hand over the top of the oil lamp and blew the wick out. The room was immediately cloaked in total darkness. "Good night Katherine," Billy said, turning on his side and facing away from the bed.

"Good night Billy," she said. Silently, the two wondered if they would be spending the rest of their lives on this bizarre planet.  
  


* * *

  


"So cold," Kimberly whispered.

"I don't know what else to do for you Kim," Jason said. He and Rocky had already given her their t-shirts, but she was still shivering.

"I've got an idea," Rocky said. He immediately began to dig in the straw. Despite the fact that it was pitch black in their cold cell, he worked quickly. He wasn't that cold, but Kimberly was starting to worry him. He soon had a fairly large hollow dug out in the soft straw.

"Jase, Kim, you two scoot over this way," Rocky instructed. Kimberly reluctantly removed her arms from around Jason and crawled over to Rocky's voice. Rocky sat down in the hole. "Kim, you can sit in my lap, and Jason can sit right against us. Okay? Then we can pile this loose straw up around us.

"Ss-ssounds good," Kimberly said through chattering teeth.

Rocky didn't mind Kimberly sitting his lap. He didn't mind that at all. He wasn't real pleased with the fact that Jason was so close, but he reminded himself that he was trying to keep Kimberly from getting too cold. Jason guided Kimberly into position. He then plunked down next to her and began to shovel the straw in around them. He wrapped an arm them, and quickly got the rest of the straw in position. Kimberly buried her face against Rocky's warm chest, relishing the feel of his body heat. Jason's body pressed firmly against her back, and his muscular arms wrapped all the way around her body and partially around Rocky's. She began to finally feel warm and slowly began to drift off to sleep.  
  


* * *

  


"Billy, please," Katherine sighed.

"Huh?" Billy asked. He sat up in the bed, trying to make out any form in the darkness.

"I'm so cold," she said. "I don't know why, but I am."

"Do you want me to wrap my side of the blanket around you?"

"I g-guess," she stuttered. Billy reached out to touch her arm. She was really cold.

"I don't think that's enough," Billy said. "Forgive me, Tommy and Trini," Billy whispered. "Here, scoot over closer to me," Billy said.

Katherine did as she was told. Billy wrapped his arms around her and pressed the full length of his body against hers. He realized, somewhat surprised, that they were the same height.

"Is this better?" Billy asked.

"Yes," she said, still shivering. "It's better." He awkwardly tucked the blanket around them tightly, trying not to move away from her. "It's much better. Thank you."

"You're welcome," he said.  
  


* * *

  


"They've gotten new captives somehow," Major Rimes said.

"How?" Lt. Thurman, his attractive partner, asked.

"I don't know," Rimes said. "But look here." He pointed at the red outline of the building on the screen. "See, three dots here in the holding cells, and two here, in the Master Bedroom."

"Isn't the Master Bedroom reserved for their King and Queen?"

"I thought so," Rimes said.

"I guess you're gonna tell me know that a blonde man and woman came from the sky to unite us all?" Thurman asked with a half-cocked grin. "I'm not totally sure, but I think we made that up. End sarcasm."

"You think?" Rimes asked. "It's obviously some of our people that must have gotten too close and were abducted."

"Bi, maybe?" Thurman suggested.

"Perhaps," Rimes agreed. "That would explain why they've just recently joined, but not why they're in the Master Bedroom. Give me a sec and we'll have a thorough scan run on them."

A few minutes later, an overweight man walked into the room with a shocked expression on his face. "You aren't going to believe this," he said.

"Try us," Thurman said.

"The three in the cell are white kids, and the two in the Master Bedroom are white kids with blonde hair," he said.

"What?" Rimes and Thurman asked in unison.

"You mean light-skinned black people, right?" Thurman asked.

"Caucasians, ma'am," he said. "Sir," he added for Rimes.

"What is their level of contamination?" Rimes asked.

"Zero, sir."

"Zero?" Thurman asked. "I don't have a single white ancestor and I'm two."

"I can't explain it. I did the scan twice, just to make sure," the scientist said. "All five kids are zeroes."

"Heck, I'd be willing to accept the three kids in the cell are okay," Rimes said. "But the blonde kids. Are there even any left?"

"No sir. The last blonde died four years ago."

"We should get a rescue party in there very soon," Thurman said. "As in now."

"I agree," Rimes said. "Let's do it."  
  


* * *

  


"Billy," Katherine said softly. She shook him slightly, trying to wake him up. "It's morning and there are people staring at us."

Billy snorted and looked up. Several of the savages were gathered around the bed. Uhma stepped forward and said, "Dark here. Speak want Queen and King."

"I don't understand," Billy said.

"Oh my God," a voice said. A black woman suddenly pushed through the savages. "You speak English."

"So do you," Katherine said in awe.

"I can't believe it," she said. "Lieutenant Thurman. How long have you been here? Rimes, get in here! They're white, they're blonde, and they seem to be okay!"

"Since yesterday morning," Katherine said.

"Yellow hair from sky," Uhma said.

"How did you get here?" Thurman asked.

"You probably wouldn't believe us," Billy said.

"You're blondes and you are alive," Thurman said. "I'll believe anything now."  
  


* * *

  


"Are you still cold?" Rocky asked when morning finally came.

"Actually, I'm okay now," Kimberly said. "I have to pee like nobody's business, but I'm not cold anymore."

"Please don't pee in my lap," Rocky said sincerely.

"I used the corner," Jason said, pointing to the farthest corner. "Either that or pee on myself."

"I'm gonna wait a while," Kimberly said. "I'd like to keep my dignity for as long as possible."

"Well, if you'll excuse me," Rocky said, "I'm gonna have to use to the corner."  
  


* * *

  


"Our clothes!" Katherine cried. She hurried over to her denim shorts and pulled the timer out of her pocket. "Yes, oh thank God."

"Cell Phone?" Rimes asked.

"Timer," Kat said.

"Is that how you travel?" Rimes asked.

"We call it sliding," Billy said. "Our friends. Where are they?"

"We've got some people trying to get them out," Thurman said. "These savages are fairly safe, but it's best to do things as calmly as possible."

"What is going on?" Billy asked. "What's with this world?"

"About a decade ago, there was a major war," Rimes said. "Australia attacked with germ warfare, and it turned out to be much more serious than they thought. The germ cloud got in the atmosphere, and in a matter of a few weeks, every person had been exposed to it."

"The disease, called K-46, killed anyone with a Caucasian or oriental background. Especially Swedes, or pretty much anyone with blonde hair. They died nearly instantly," Rimes said.

"I assume K-46 attacked by altering the genetic code?" Billy asked.

"Correct," Rimes said. "The only race that seemed to be unaffected was the Africans."

"But all of these people here are white," Kat said.

"They're not right," Thurman said. "Some white and Orientals weren't killed, but they were so messed up, they reverted to what you see here. They're harmless, they're just not quite all there, if you know what I mean.."

"There weren't even that many survivors," Rimes said. "There were about five thousand whites and Orientals to survive. So we gave them California. They have a wide range of climates here, they're happy, and we're happy."

"And we just had the bad luck to land here," Billy said. "What's the deal with yellow hair from sky?"

"We've appeased them by telling them that it was their destiny to be here," Thurman said. "We told them that two beings with yellow hair would come to them from the sky to unite them with the rest of the world. We didn't actually think it would happen. We've got some of our best translators trying to explain it to them now."

"How did you find us?" Kat asked.

"We monitor California from a Military Base in Nevada," Rimes said. "We detected five new beings, two of which were in the Throne Building. We ran a scan on you, found out you were blondes with no contamination, and hot-footed it out here."

"Rimes, Thurman?" a man asked, sticking his head into the room. "Can we see you two for a minute?"

"Sure," Rimes said. The two left Billy and Katherine alone.

"Should we ask them why we can't morph?" Katherine asked.

"We better not," Billy said. "They probably don't have Rangers here. It probably just has something to do with electricity, or magnetism, or something. We're bound to the rules of whatever universe we visit. Maybe magic doesn't exist in any form on this world."

"I wonder why they keep it so cold around here," Katherine wondered.

"Maybe the seasons are reversed and it's actually winter," Billy said. "Anything is possible. Maybe they even have air conditioning. Or it might have had something to do with that tranquilizer they gave us."

"They didn't tranquilize me," Katherine said. "Maybe that's it."

"Could be," Billy said. "Man, I want to get out of here. Go someplace safe."

"I hear that," Rocky said.

"Rocky!" Katherine cried. Rimes and Thurman guided the three teens into the room. Kimberly looked particularly relieved.

"Thank you," Kimberly said, hugging Thurman. "I really needed to go to the bathroom."

"Can you leave from this room?" Thurman asked.

"We sure can," Billy said. "Hit it Kat."

Katherine held the timer out before her and pushed the button. The bright portal opened up on the wall. She bundled her clothes up and handed Jason the timer. "We can get dressed on the next world," she said.

"I'm never going to wear leather again," Billy said.

"Thank you so much for rescuing us," Kimberly said.

"Good luck," Thurman said as they all jumped into the wormhole.  
  


* * *

  
  
Five days later...  


"This is weird," Jason said.

"Billy?" Kimberly asked. "Any suggestions?"

Billy slowly climbed to his feet. They were standing in the heart of some city. It wasn't quite right, though. Everything was damaged. Buildings stood only half as tall as they should have normally. The street was covered with cracks. Weeds poked up through the sidewalks. "Armageddon world," Billy said. His voice echoed eerily in the quiet city.

"Looks like it happened some time ago," Rocky said.

"We should be safe here," Katherine said thoughtfully.

"So long as the aliens that did this aren't still hanging around," Kimberly said, half-joking half-serious.

"Anything could have happened," Billy said. "A war, evil space aliens, a plague of some sort... I'd say it happened over twenty years ago though. This place is in rough shape."  
  


* * *

  
  
Later that afternoon...  


Yellow light temporarily flashed in the Command Center. I looked up just as the beam of light touched the ground. Yellow sparkles rained off of it as Tara resumed her physical form. "Running late, aren't we?" I asked.

"We had company I couldn't get away from," Tara said. "Now what's the dilemma?"

"Somethin' freaky's happening to the Dimensional Barrier," Omicron said.

"Where's Sigma?" Crystal asked, looking up only momentarily from the flashing computer screen set into the console before her.

"He's out trying to find the disturbance himself," Dana answered.

"He's been gone for hours," Allison said. "He should have contacted us earlier."

A minor alarm went off. "Shoot," Beth said. She hurried over to a nearby console and immediately acknowledged the alarm. "Omicron, come check this out."

"I'm kind of stuck here," Omicron said. She latched her fingers under the edge of the console and pulled hard.

"I'll check," Dana said.

"Would you come help me?" Omicron asked.

"Sorry," I said. I quickly paused what I was doing and went to help her. "What are you doing this for?"

"I'm just gonna make sure the Power Cells are working," Omicron said. "They haven't gone bad yet, but there's always a first time for anything."

"Wouldn't that be ironic," Allison said.

"The last thing we need is to be down on defenses," Crystal agreed.

"Whoa," Dana said in awe. "Omicron, you really need to come see this."

"Power Cells are okay," she said. She motioned for Tara to help me get the panel back in place.

"Omicron, come see this," Dana said.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Omicron said. She hurried over to the attractive blonde and looked at the console. "What is it?"

"Five lifeforms," Dana said. "Three male, two female. And look at this."

A gasp came from Omicron's mouth. "They have the Power," she said in awe.

We all stopped cold in our tracks. "Run that by us one more time," Allison said.

"Power Rangers," Omicron said. Another alarm sounded. "Shoot! They're being drawn right to us!"

"I'll bounce the signal," Crystal said.

"Don't bounce them too far," Dana said. "They might be good guys."

"Okay," Crystal said. She pushed the round button before her. "They ain't comin' here."

"They're about to land," Omicron said. A few seconds later, she announced, "Crystal Onyx Park. With the buffaloes. Who wants to volunteer to check this out?"

"I'll go," I said.

"Me too," Dana volunteered. We stood next to each other and pressed our left thumb to our left middle finger. Blue light overwhelmed my body. I felt the familiar tickle of a teleport in the pit of my stomach. A few nano-seconds later, my body was just light. With a whoosh, I lifted into the air, discarding the customary blue sparkles of light. Dana in her green teleport stream flew tandem with me, and we darted out of the Command Center.  
  


* * *

  


"Ow," Rocky said. "Ow. Thorn."

"You big baby," Kimberly said. She crawled over to him and pulled the tiny green briar out of his thumb.

"We're in the country," Katherine said happily.

"Hey cool," Jason said. "Look. Buffaloes."

"Maybe they aren't rare on this world," Billy said.

"Uhm, you guys?" Rocky asked. "Check that out." He pointed at the sky. A blue and a green teleport stream landed far off from them.

"Rangers?" Kimberly asked.

"I guess," Billy said.

"What if they aren't friendly?" Jason asked.  
  


* * *

  


"We'll just walk up to them very slowly and casually," Dana said.

"Just be ready," I reminded her.

"They've seen us," Dana said. The five figures were walking in our direction.

"Do you recognize them?" I asked.

"No," she said. "You?"

"I don't think so," I answered. However, as we all walked closer to each other, I realized I was very, very wrong. We were within two hundred feet of each other when I made the connection. "No way."

"No way what?" Dana asked.

"I'm gonna go closer," I said. Pressing my thumb and middle finger together, I melted into a blue streak of light and horizontally teleported before the group. Dana was close behind me in a streak of green.  
  


* * *

  


"Maybe everybody can teleport on this world," Rocky suggested.

"I've never seen a teleport like that," Jason said. The two teens had melted into their teleport streams, but instead of darting up into the sky like teleport streams were wont to do, they were floating toward them at a high of about two feet above the ground.

"Please be friendly," Katherine whispered.  
  


* * *

  


Dana and I materialized within ten feet of the group. "Hi," I said in awe.

"Hello," Billy said. "My name is Billy."

"Billy?" I asked. I shot Dana a look.

"You mean...?" Dana asked, just as awe-struck as I was.

"They look like them," I whispered. To the group, I said, "Are you sure you aren't David Yost?"

"David who?" Billy asked. "No, I'm Billy Cranston."

"Jason Scott," Jason said, extending his hand. Dana took his hand and gave it a firm shake.

"Dana Warder," she answered. "This is Jeremy. Or Jeremy Ray. Whatever he's in the mood to be called today."

"I'll answer to anything," I said in awe.

"I'll save us a little time," Kimberly said. "I'm Kimberly Hart, this is Katherine Hillard, and that guy in back is Rocky DeSantos. We're kind of lost."

"Actually," Rocky said, "we're just passing thru."

"Are you Power Rangers?" I asked, finally finding my voice.

"We could ask you the same question," Rocky said. "What's with the teleport?"

"He asked you first," Dana said. She put her arm behind her back and twitched her fingers.

"Yeah, we're Power Rangers," Billy said. "Why?" Dana gave me a pressing look, to which I just shrugged.

"So are we," I finally answered. "This is just down-right weird."

Dana pressed her thumb and forefinger together. She brought them up to her mouth and said, "Omicron, teleport us and our friends here to the Command Center."

"The girl is talking to her thumb," Rocky said. "This is another freak-show world. I knew it. I just knew it."

Before anyone could say another word, we melted into seven teleport streams and darted into the daytime sky.  
  


* * *

  


"How weird is this?" Crystal asked.

"Are you sure it's them?" Tara asked.

"It looks like them," Omicron said.

"I've watched the show with Jarred enough," Allison said. "It's them."

"Here they come," Beth said. The five females turned away the Viewing Screen. The silver and black gridwork wall slid over the large screen.

Three blue, two pink, one red, and one green teleport streams lowered into the Command Center.

"It's just like ours," Kimberly said.

"This is unreal," Allison said.

"Would someone please stop acting shocked and tell us what is going on?" Rocky pleaded.

Beth stopped forward. "My name is Beth Berry. That guy over there with his face dragging on the ground is Jeremy, my partner a.k.a. the Blue Ranger. The blonde with him is Dana, my best friend. She's the Green Ranger, I'm the Pink Ranger. This lovely lady here is Crystal Mills, the Red Ranger. Her partner is Purple Ranger Allison Caswell. And lastly we have Tara Logsdon, Dana's partner, also known as the Yellow Ranger. Jeremy and I are sort of like the leaders, but only technically. The reason why everyone is so stunned is because..."

"Hold up," I said. "That may be too much for them to absorb at once."

"He speaks," Crystal said in mock awe.

"I'm Omicron," the last girl said. Jason was immediately struck by her looks. She had blonde hair that hung straight down her back, reaching her waist. "Omicron Pi, actually, but everyone calls me Omicron. I'm sort of like your Alpha."

"How do you know Alpha?" Billy asked.

Omicron shot me a pleading look to which I just shrugged. "Only one guy Ranger?" Rocky asked.

"Isn't it cool?" I asked with a laugh. "Now I have something very ... very very bizarre to tell you. Can you handle it?"

"You have no idea what we've seen," Katherine said. "We can handle anything now."

"Here goes," I said. "You're a television show here."  
  


* * *

  


"I told you it would shock them," I said. The five Rangers pretty much temporarily lost their minds when they learned that the Power Rangers is just a television show on our world.

"It's just a little bit too much to handle all at once," Billy said. He leaned against the pedestal that Sigma's Sword sat atop.  
  


* * *

  


Billy looked at the seven teens in the Command Center before him. It was identical to their Command Center, except that in place of Zordon's tube there was a large pedestal, adorned with crystals shards, with a giant Crystal Sword shoved into the center. The handle of the Sword was adorned with gold and silver, and it was actually quite attractive.

He looked at the guy in the dark red t-shirt. "Blue Ranger, but he wears red," Billy thought to himself. The guy reminded him of Jason, strangely enough, with just a little bit of himself thrown in. Wide shoulders, very heavy stance, and short brown hair. Billy noticed almost immediately that the Blue Ranger wore glasses with a specially polished lens, designed not to show that they were actually coke-bottle thick. His eyes were a vibrant shade of green, much like Jenga's.

He looked at Beth Berry. She had blondeish-brown hair that reached halfway down her back. Her eyes were the most bizarre shade of green and gold. She was about as short as Kimberly, but man alive, she was gorgeous. "What is it about gorgeous Pink Rangers?" Billy asked himself.

His eyes wandered over to the real Red Ranger, who strangely enough, was wearing a navy blue shirt. He didn't know why it seemed so odd that they would be wearing a color different from their Ranger color. He often wore greens and reds. It just seemed that blue was the most prominent color in his closet. She wasn't anything like any of the Red Rangers he had ever known. For one thing, she was a she. She was the lone black person of the group. She reminded Billy of Aisha when she had first shown up. Her hair was styled like Aisha's had been, and she wore a smile that just didn't seem to end.

"And the Purple Ranger," he thought to himself. He wanted to see the Purple Ranger in action. For one thing, she was very cute. She didn't carry the same confident air that Beth did, even though she was just as pretty. Her hair was blonde and only reached her shoulders. Her eyes were her strong point. Even from across the room, he could see their crystal blue color plainly.

Dana Warder. Yet another Gender anomaly. He couldn't help but associate green with masculinity, even though Aisha had worn the Green Dragon Armor for a while. Dana was also attractive. And she seemed to be very intelligent. "Good body too," he noticed with a half-cocked smile.

Tara Logsdon. He wondered if she and Blue Ranger were related. They looked like they might be. Tara wore glasses, for one thing, although that didn't mean anything. Her eyes were brown, and his were green, so they might be. Their faces don't look very similar, but that's not really a big deal either. Hair color is identical, though. Tara's brown hair hung halfway down her back in wavy curls.

His eyes finally rested on Omicron. He didn't fully understand her yet. She wasn't a Ranger, but she seemed to be the leader. Another blonde, he thought to himself. Such a shame I'm attracted to brunettes. And the fact that I'm dating Trini. Somewhere.

An alarm suddenly went off in the Command Center.  
  


* * *

  


"Nadia," Crystal spat through clenched teeth.

"She must know we have company," Allison said.

"There are a butt-load of Naddies in the park," Dana said, reading the monitor.

"Knotty?" Rocky asked.

"Sort of," I said. If they're from the TV show, I thought to myself, they'll know what I'm talking about. "They're mechanical fighters that look like Tengas, only they come in all colors."

"They're called Naddies after our bad guy, Nadia," Tara said.

"Do you need help?" Jason asked.

"Are you all up to it?" Beth asked. "Cause we'd be glad to have you."

"If you'll explain everything when we're done," Kimberly said.

"Deal," I said.

"It's Morphin Time!" Beth and I cried in unison.

"TRICERATOPS!!!" I yelled.

"PTERODACTYL!!!" Beth cried.

"TYRANNOSAURUS!!!" bellowed Crystal.

"MASTODON!!!" Allison shouted.

"BRACHIOSAURUS!!!" Dana cried.

"SABER-TOOTHED TIGER!!!" yelled Tara.

"TRICERATOPS --- WOLF!!!"

"PTERODACTYL --- CRANE!!!"

"TYRANNOSAURUS --- COUGAR!!!"

"ZEO RANGER I, PINK --- BUTTERFLY!!!"

"ZEO RANGER III, BLUE --- APE!!!"

Eleven teleport streams rose up out of the Command Center and darted into the heart of Mammoth Cave National Park. "Now to get Sigma back here again," Omicron said to herself.  
  


* * *

  


"Whoa!" Beth cried. She dropped to the ground in a full split as a Naddie swung a Sword over her. She somersaulted away and hopped to her feet. "PTERODACTYL BALL AND CHAIN!!!" A pink chain appeared in her hand, complete with a heavy spiked ball, also pink, at the end. She snapped the spiked ball at the Naddie's Sword, knocking it from the bird's grip. She jumped into the air and side-kicked it in the chest, sending it away.

"Comin' thru!" Tara shouted. She flipped over Beth's head with several Naddies in close pursuit. Tara ran through the trees with six Naddies close behind. She ran up the side of a tree, launching herself into a backwards flip. Tara landed gracefully in the back of the group. "SABER-TOOTHED TIGER BOW AND ARROW!!!" Tara yelled. A yellow, black, and silver Bow appeared in her hand in a flash of yellow light. "Oh yeah," Tara said. She pulled back on the string, producing a yellow arrow of energy. "Hey Birdies!" Tara shouted. The Naddies turned around to look at her. "Heads up." She let the arrow fly, striking one Naddie square in the chest. She quickly spun the bow in her hand and held it out straight in front of her. "Anyone else?" The Naddies suddenly rushed her. She crashed the bow into the robot bird's chest. She tossed the bow up into the air and grabbed it by the tip. Brandishing it like a baseball bat, she began to smash it into the birds, effectively dismantling them all.

"Ki-yaah!" Crystal shouted. She cartwheeled away from the approaching Naddie. Suddenly, a green Naddie dropped out of the tree in front of her. "Oh boy. TYRANNOSAURUS TALONS!!!" Instantly, her weapons appeared in her hands. The Talons were a shiny metallic red in color. Each Talon had four long three foot blades, attached to a small red handle. The four blades flared out slightly so as to inflict a wider swath of damage. Crystal spun the Talons in her hands. The Naddies stopped running and stared at her. "Not so brave anymore, huh?" Crystal challenged.

Dana planted her left leg on the ground and kicked with her right in a circle all around her, downing several Naddies. Suddenly, an especially angry Naddie ran at her. "Uh-oh!" Dana shouted. She jumped over the twitching birds on the ground and ran away from the angry red bird. It threatened to impale her on a giant spear. Dana glanced behind her and saw that the bird was dangerously close. "BRACHIOSAURUS TRIDENT!!!" Dana yelled. Her green Trident appeared in her hand in a flash of light. Planting the pronged end into the ground, she wrapped her hands around the trident's shaft and jumped off of the ground. Her momentum carried her in a circle around it. The red Naddie ran past her, confused. As she completed her revolution, she connected solidly with the bird's back. "Oh yeah," Dana said proudly, landing neatly on her feet. The Naddie flew forward and accidentally impaled itself on its own spear.

"Going up!" Allison shouted, leaping off of the ground. She traveled straight up in the air, landing neatly on a tree branch about forty-five feet above her. A purple Naddie with a Sword was close behind her. "Hey!" Allison shouted, spinning around on the branch. "Don't sneak up on people." The Naddie swung the Sword at her. "Okay," Allison said, backing up to avoid the sharp blade. "You wanna play rough, we'll play rough. MASTODON MACHETE!!!" A three-foot long purple machete appeared in her hand. She blocked the Sword just in time. "You birds get on my nerves," Allison said. She yanked her Machete back and knocked the Sword out of the Naddie's grip. Allison quickly jumped in the air and executed a perfect 360 spin kick. The Naddie fell from the branch, screaming to the ground. It hit the Earth and exploded, sending machine parts everywhere.

"Oh geez," I said. Four particularly mean yellow Naddies circled around me. Each carried a very sharp axe. I glanced up and saw a heavy limb high above me. "TRICERATOPS WHIP!!!" I shouted. With a flash of blue light, the Triceratops Whip appeared in my hand. It was entirely contained with a blue cylinder, complete with a wicked looking claw at the top. I stuck my arm straight up into the air. The whip flew from the claw and darted straight up, wrapping itself around the limb. "Goin' up," I said. The whip retracted into the cylinder, pulling me to safety.

"Need a hand?" Allison asked at the top. She took my hand and pulled me to the branch.

"What's with these birds today?" I asked.

"They seem awful strong," Allison agreed. "Oh crap. Rocky looks like he's in trouble."

"Let's go," I said. We took off running through the tree tops, hopping gracefully from limb to limb.

"I will never complain about Tengas again," Rocky thought. He had his Arm Blades out before him, blocking a Saber. The Naddie was quickly pinning him to the ground. "Geez," Rocky said. He lashed out with his foot, finally knocking the Naddie away from him. He rolled away and jumped to his feet.

Katherine slashed across the chest of a pink Naddie with her Power Shield. Two white Naddies suddenly rushed her. "WHOA!!!" Katherine shouted. She jumped into the air and kicked them both at the same time.

"These things don't fight like Tengas!" Kimberly cried, smashing her bow against a very nasty pink bird.

"They have no pattern!!!" Billy shouted, barely blocking a swipe from a sharp Sword.

Suddenly, a large crowd of Naddies of all colors began to approach the five Rangers.  
  


* * *

  


"They're all in trouble!" I shouted.

"You guys, get over here!" Allison shouted into our communication system. "We got Rangers in trouble!!"

Allison and I ran through the trees until we were above them. "Ready?" I asked.

She stretched out her right forearm, and we smacked them together, producing that cool whoosh sound. "Let's do it," she said.

"Hi-yaaah!" we yelled in unison as we flipped out of the tree. We landed cat-like on our feet and promptly recovered. I jumped into the air and spin-kicked three Naddies.

"They have no fight pattern!" Allison shouted. "Just fight fast and hard!" She slashed at one with her Machete and jabbed another with her elbow on the return stroke.

"They're like the gargoyles in the first movie!" I shouted.

"What?" Rocky asked.

"On Phaedos," I re-iterated, high-kicking a Naddie that got too close.

"Check this!" Allison shouted. She threw her Machete like a boomerang. The Power immediately overtook the weapon, and it began to spin around them in a circle, slashing at each Naddie.

Suddenly, all of the Naddies disappeared in streaks of black light. "Is it over?" Rocky asked.

Beth, Crystal, Dana, and Tara ran up to us. "They just took off," Crystal said.

Suddenly, blue light flashed above us. The forest temporarily darkened, and Nadia dropped out of the sky. She has made herself into the form of my ideal woman since I am the only guy on the team. I'm ashamed to say that I've often found myself distracted during battles. She has long blonde hair, bright blueish-green eyes, and a gorgeous smile. She wears long dark blue robes that drape the ground. Nadia is a demon in the truest sense of the word. She isn't a demon inhabiting a body, she's a demon. Period. She has a very bizarre crew of henchmen, all of who look basically human.

"Rangers," Nadia said teasingly. "All eleven of you."

"What do you want?" Beth asked.

"Chill little cheerleader," Nadia said. "I'm just here to visit. Thought I might like to meet your new friends."

"You know who they are," I snarled.

"Yes," Nadia agreed. "Yes I do." Nadia turned from us and began to walk away. "I've decided to invite a friend."

"You wouldn't dare," Beth said, running after her.

"Don't be a fool," Tara said, joining Beth in her pursuit.

"Duran nearly killed you last time too!" I shouted, joining my friends. The rest of the Rangers were close behind us.

"He owes me this time," Nadia said.

"Hey!" Crystal shouted. She ran ahead of Nadia and placed a gloved hand on each arm. Nadia eyed the Red Ranger condescendingly. "He nearly killed us all," Crystal growled. "You included. Why would you do this again?"

"He owes me," Nadia said with a grin. "If I bring him from hell, he will be indebted to me."

"Please," Dana said. "He'll turn against you too."

Nadia pushed Crystal aside. "I've made my mind up," Nadia said very calmly. "I'll let you know ... when he arrives." Nadia disappeared in a puff of blue smoke.

"God not again," Dana pleaded.

"Who's Duran?" Kat asked.

"Come on," I said. "We'll go back to the Command Center and explain everything."  
  


* * *

  


"I saw what happened," Omicron said sadly when we arrived. "But you guys beat Duran once. You can do it again."

"It was luck last time and you know it," I said as we removed our helmets. 

Billy looked at the six of us. We all wore the same type of muscle-fitting body armor, shiny and almost metallic in appearance. No one had a special shield to signify importance. The Blue, Pink, and Yellow Rangers were identical to the original Blue, Pink, and Yellow Rangers. The Red Ranger's helmet was identical to Jason's, although the body was that of a woman. Purple Ranger's helmet was just like Black Ranger's Mastodon, only purple. Green Ranger was a new design, however. Her Power Coin, the Brachiosaurus, showed a hint of a long curved neck with the dinosaur's face foremost in the coin. Her helmet was a uniform green. The neck of the Brachiosaurus split the center of the visor, much as Pterodactyl's beak split Pink Ranger's visor. The weapons were certainly different, and a few other things. Billy wondered if he would get to see the Zords. If they even had Zords. 

"Don't be so hard on yourselves," a deep voice said from the back of the room. Everyone present turned to look. A young man with short brownish-blonde hair leaned against the Sword. He had the same underwater look that Catalina had, indicating that he was a hologram. He wore blue jeans and an ordinary t-shirt, which greatly surprised the five new Rangers. "You were chosen for a good reason."

"Syde River," Beth muttered.

"Coincidence," Crystal said.

"Fate," Omicron said firmly.

"He's right," I said. "We can beat Duran. Somehow, some way."

"Can someone come back to Earth and pick me up because I am totally lost," Kimberly said.

"I guess we do have some explaining," the hologram said. "First off, my name is Sigma."

"Sigma?" Billy asked. The name suddenly clicked. "Do you know Catalina?!"

"Catalina of Eltare?" Sigma asked, raising his eyebrows. "Out of the loop? Blue hair, white gown? That Catalina?"

"Yes!" Jason cried.

"Yes, I do know Catalina," Sigma said. "I haven't spoken to her in several months, though."

"We're from her dimension," Katherine said.

"We're stuck sliding the dimensions, trying to get home," Rocky added.

Sigma looked at the Sword. It began to glow with a soft white light. "I'll set up a message beacon for Catalina," Sigma said. "She'll notice it in a few days, and she can come here."

"They'll know we're okay," Kat said happily.

Sigma smiled. "I suppose you are from a world where Zordon is your mentor?" Sigma offered. "Right? Or do you have Dimitria?"

"Who is Dimitria?" Rocky asked.

"Let me try something," I said. "Does the name Jenga mean anything to you?" The noticeable shudder which unconsciously passed through the Earth told me everything I needed to know. "Sigma, they're from that fan fic I've been writing!"

"Now how cool is this?!" Omicron cried happily.

"Fan fic?" Rocky asked.

"Here's the basic story," Sigma said. "On this world, the Power Rangers are a television show. Plain and simple, just a television show. The superheroes, who look like you five, wear spandex."

"We went to a world where the Rangers wore spandex," Billy added.

"There was a movie that came out here a few years ago about the Power Rangers," I said. "It was about when Ivan Ooze destroyed the Command Center, and you all wore armor like you are wearing now."

"Here's a question," Jason said. "I'm willing to accept that this is a world where the Power Rangers are just a t.v. show. But how do you all fit into the equation?"

"We'll get to that in a minute," Sigma said. "Screen on." A section of the wall slid back and revealed a large wall. It was split into five sections. The pictures of Steve Cardenas, Catherine Sutherland, Amy Jo Johnson, David Yost, and Austin St. John appeared on the screen. "These are the actors that play you on the television show."

"They look just like us," Kimberly said.

"Yes," Sigma said. "People in this dimension are very psychically sensitive. Extremely so, even though very, very few are aware of it. Because of this psychic sensitivity, a series chronicling your adventures has arisen here. It is a near-identical duplicate of your lives." A few select scenes from the show began to play on the screen, minus the sound. "Coincidence, yes, but there are so many dimensions out there..."

"We've been through sixty or seventy ourselves," Billy said.

"So where do you all fit into the picture?" Kimberly asked.

"Nadia and I battled millennia ago," Sigma said. "She is a demon, I am an archangel. During one last fierce battle, she knocked me out of the dimension just as I banished her. However, the spell on her banishment wore off in September of 1995. I was sent another archangel, Miss Omicron Pi here, to stop them."

"I brought the Sword as a gift to Sigma," Omicron said. "It's one of the most powerful objects in this dimension."

"We thought it would let me leave this dimension of mine," Sigma said, "but it wouldn't. So I wasn't able to teach Omicron how to fight Nadia."

"We decided to get outside help," Omicron said, "so we followed the Syde River. No one but Sigma and I have even heard of them."

"Syde Rivers are powerful lines of magic. Sort of like Ley Lines, but not exactly. For one thing, Syde Rivers are much more powerful. For another, they are much, much more rare," Sigma explained.

"Mammoth Cave is one giant Syde River," Omicron said. "With many, many powerful extensions out."

"We followed the two strongest extensions to their stopping point," Sigma said. "We found that one led through Jeremy's house, and the other led through Beth's house. These Syde Rivers that they had lived on top of their entire lives made them very, very susceptible to magic, even though they never knew. It was just the purest of coincidences that they had lived on the Syde River."

"We monitored them for a while to see if they would make exemplary warriors," Omicron added. "And they were. Both are teen leaders of the community and very trustworthy. We began to look for ideas of how they would make warriors."

"Mighty Morphin Power Rangers : The Movie, came out on June 30, 1995," Sigma said. "This movie made Jeremy a fan of the whole Power Rangers concept. I soon discovered this when I tried to probe his mind for his strategic strong points.

"It just made perfect sense for me to create my own Rangers. I didn't make them quite like the movie Rangers, however. For one thing, we have purple and green Rangers. I like colors. So, as soon as I had the entire Ranger concept mapped out, I created six Golden Power Coins. The Blue Coin powered by the Triceratops, Pink by Pterodactyl, Red by Tyrannosaurus, Purple by Mastodon, Green by Brachiosaurus, and Yellow by Saber-Toothed Tiger. I also created the Command Center here, deep in Mammoth Cave to base our operations in."

"We also did another very interesting thing," Omicron said. "We paired the Rangers up. We decided that the Blue and Pink Rangers would be the leaders. Blue as it is synonymous with masculinity, and pink as it is synonymous with femininity. Blue and Pink Rangers were made joint leaders of the team and partners. We also paired Red and Purple up, as we did Green and Yellow."

"We teleported Jeremy and Beth here on September 8, a Friday afternoon, after school," Sigma said with a mischievous grin.

"Beth thought she had lost her mind and I thought I was in heaven," I said with a laugh. "Imagine finding myself here in the Command Center. Blew my mind."

"I can appreciate that," Jason said, to which Billy and Kimberly chuckled.

"We filled them in, gave them the Coins, and asked them to recruit four of their friends for the other Rangers," Sigma said.

"Just like that?" Rocky asked.

"I used my Sword to place a spell of acceptance on them," Sigma said.

"How did you choose?" Katherine asked.

"We suggested so many people," Beth said.

"Dozens," I added.

"We finally narrowed it down to the four you see here when I realized that they also were susceptible to magic," Sigma said. "It's made their morphing process much easier on them."

"I selected Allison and Tara," I said, "and Beth selected Crystal and Dana. We were all friends, to an extent, but we weren't all a big group of friends."

"We still aren't, really," Crystal said sheepishly. "We're very, very good friends, but not as good as you all are. We have our own lives, and since we've gone to college, we mainly only see each other together as a group during a Ranger emergency."

"We also live in the country," Tara said, "and we don't have a common hang-out within walking distance."

"The closest town is Munfordville, population twenty-five hundred," I said.

"Didn't the public find it very weird that a group of superheroes that look just like some t.v. show suddenly show up to defend the world?" Billy asked.

"Hew," I breathed out. "That's another thing."

"No one knows about us," Sigma said. "We have no desire to be found out, and Nadia has no idea to be found out. She attacks, we fight, and if anyone sees it, I use my Sword to both wipe the memory from their mind, give them an alternate memory, and repair any damage done during the fight."

"This world doesn't know it's in danger?" Rocky asked in horrified awe.

"No," we all said in unison.

"Some of our friends and family know," Dana said, "but there is an acceptance and denial spell placed on them."

"They accept it no problem," Sigma said, "but invariably deny it. And, if they feel the urge to tell, they physically can't. But only a very few know about it."

"Your Sword seems very powerful," Billy said. "Could you send us home?"

"No," Sigma said sadly. "I cannot. If I could, I wouldn't trapped where I am. Worse yet, I can't even leave Mammoth Cave in this dimension, thanks to a dirty little spell of Nadia's."

"I think we should wait here until Catalina shows up," Rocky said warily. "If no one minds."

"Not at all," Omicron said.

"Of course not," I said. "In fact, my parents are out of town for the summer. You can stay with me for as long as you like."

"This will give us a chance to get rested up," Kimberly said with a sigh.

"Eat real food," Rocky said. "I am so tired of all-you-can-eat buffets."

"Shower once a day," Jason said blissfully.

"And Jeremy gets to stay in the same house with his two favorite Pink Rangers," Beth whispered in my ear.

"Don't you even go there," I threatened.  
  


* * *

  


"Shower is in here," I said, motioning to the bathroom. "Omicron is going to synthesize you all some clothes and teleport them here."

"Can I go ahead and take a shower?" Kimberly asked.

Kimberly Ann Hart is going to use my shower. With a tremble, I said, "Sure."

"Where are your parents?" Rocky asked.

"Virginia visiting family," I said. "I go see 'em every few days. You know, they're just a teleport away. And I really needed to stay here, because Nadia tends to attack wherever we are. Sigma saved Beth's butt nearly every day because Nadia was always attacking at Boot Camp. Crystal too."

"Crystal and Beth are in the army?" Jason asked. "That is so cool."

"Crystal is air-force, actually," I said, "but yeah, it is cool. Tara just lives down the road. We get attacked around here all the time."

"Are you related?" Billy asked.

"No, Logsdon is a common name around here," I answered. "Lot of Irish blood in Hart County." I led them to the back of the house. "I keep my weight machine back here. Feel free to use 'em."

"Great," Jason said. "I haven't lifted since we left."

"Spotter safe," I said. "I'm usually the only one home, so I got something I could lift by myself on."

"Has it got negative resistance?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, just like free weights," I said. "I also have some barbells up to fifty behind it."

"How long you been lifting?" Jason asked.

"Since I was fifteen," I said. "You?"

"Fourteen," Jason answered.

This is so cool, I thought to myself. I'm talking to Jason Scott about lifting weights. "Oh yeah," I said. "I forgot the most important thing. If you need to contact the Command Center, press your index finger and thumb together. That opens the radio connections, and you just talk into your thumb."

"Like we saw Dana doing," Rocky said.

"To teleport, press your thumb and middle finger together," I said. "I'll show you how to do the slow teleports, later. And the horizontal. It's pretty simple. Just takes some getting used to, because normally you just let yourself fly."

"Sleeping arrangements?" Katherine asked. "Where will we sleep?"

"We have three bedrooms," I said. "You and Kim can take my bed, two of the guys can take the guest bed, somebody can take my parents bed, and I'll hit the couch."

"That doesn't sound very fair," Jason said. "Why should you take the couch? It's your house."

"But you all are guest in my house," I said. "I really don't mind. And I sleep alone. I tend to kick and thrash around a lot. But anyway, let me go cook some dinner. You all are bound to be hungry."

"Read my mind!" Rocky cried happily.  
  


* * *

  


The five Rangers looked up at the dark night sky. A blue trail of sparkling light floated across the sky. It landed amongst them. I touched down on the ground in a reclined position, as were they.

"Do your parents mind us staying here?" Jason asked.

"They're cool with it," I answered. "They give their regards."

"Even though it's just for a few days," Kimberly said, "I'm glad to be in one definite place."

"Without having our doubles to contend with," Billy agreed.

"I'm glad to have you here," I said truthfully. I think Billy suspected my secret television crush on Katherine and Kimberly, but he didn't say anything. For which I was extremely grateful. I also kind of have a crush on Beth, although I wouldn't say anything to jeopardize our friendship for anything. I don't know what it is with me and Pink Rangers. I'm grateful we don't wear spandex. There is no way I would ever get any fighting done if Beth ran around in pink tights. With the armor, we all look too dangerous to feel any attraction at all. Impressive, but not attractive.

Katherine read the last page of _The Earth Crystals._ "This is unreal," she said. "It's exactly what happened to us. Well, I can't really say about the stuff with the villains, but it sounds about right."

"Proves the psychically sensitive theory," I said. "I thought it was just a story. It's not even all mine. Kittie told me Tanya's animal guide, Akiko gave me some ideas, as did Ellen."

"Who are they?" Katherine asked. "They're here in the disclaimer."

"Good friends off of the Internet," I said with a smile. "I hadn't planned on writing a sequel, but I believe I will now. Eerily enough, a friend of mine, Cynthia, wrote a fan fic that was sort of like this scenario."

"What are you going to call it?" Rocky asked. "The sequel, I mean."

"I have no idea," I said, "but it's going to be about this. Can you all help me write about your sliding adventures?"

"Sure," Billy said.

"I wonder if we'll ever get home," Jason thought out loud.

"In a way it's sort of cool," Rocky said.

"It is," Katherine agreed. "Traveling on worlds that are parallel to our own, yet can be so completely different."

"Every time we slide I think of _Quantum Leap_," Jason said. "You know, that whole thing about hoping each leap will be the leap home. I miss Emily."

"I miss Tommy," Katherine said.

"I miss Skull."

"I miss Trini." We all looked at Rocky with inquisitive eyes.

"No response," Rocky sighed. "This has been fun. Sort of. But I'm willing to get off of this parallel world to go home. No offense."

"None taken," I said. "I'd hate to be stuck in Angel Grove. Is Angel Grove in California?"

"Yeah," Jason answered.

"They never really said on the show, but everyone thought so," I said. We were all silent for a few moments. "Was there really a world where the Rangers wore spandex?" I later learned that the world in question was known to this world as Ellen Brand's Personality Conflicts Universe, even more proof of the psychically sensitive theory.

"I think we'll make a good story," Kimberly said.

"I just hope it has a happy ending," Billy sighed.

"We need a good title," Rocky mused.

"How about Parallels?" Kimberly suggested.  
  


**The End ... for now**  


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   [1]: index.htm



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